Can DITA be configured to restrict access to sensitive patient information in documentation?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Yes, DITA XML can be configured to restrict access to sensitive patient information in documentation, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Healthcare organizations often need to control who can view or edit certain parts of patient-related content. DITA provides mechanisms to achieve this level of access control.

One way to configure DITA for access restriction is by using the “audience” attribute. This attribute can be added to specific DITA elements, such as or

, and set to roles or groups that should have access. For example, if a piece of content contains sensitive patient information, you can restrict access to authorized users by specifying their role in the “audience” attribute.

Example:

Here’s an example of using the “audience” attribute to restrict access in DITA XML:

<!-- Example of access restriction in DITA XML -->
<topic id="patient-record" audience="doctor,nurse">
  <title>Patient Record - John Doe</title>
  <body>
    <p>Medical history and treatment details for John Doe.</p>
  </body>
</topic>

In this example, the “audience” attribute is set to “doctor,nurse,” which means that only users with the “doctor” or “nurse” roles can access this content, effectively restricting access to sensitive patient information to authorized healthcare professionals.