Unique Identifiers

Individual Health Identifiers

Accurate information is central to a safe and efficient health and social care system. To ensure the safety of all patients and service users, we recommend that a number, known as an Individual Health Identifier (IHI), be assigned to all people in Ireland.

What is an Individual Health Identifier (IHI)?

An IHI is a unique, non-transferable lifetime number assigned to all individuals accessing health and social care in Ireland. Its purpose is to accurately identify the individual, enabling health and social care to be delivered to the right patient, in the right place and at the right time.

Why introduce IHIs?

Currently in Ireland there is no IHI for individuals accessing health and social care services. Hospitals, general practitioners (GPs) and social care facilities each have their own method of identifying patients. Having one standard method of identifying an individual uniquely is essential for patient safety in the provision and management of high quality health and social care. It is essential to the provision of continuity of care.  It will also reduce the current level of duplication involved in patient registration and identification and provide better value for money.

What is being done?

The Authority has identified the urgent need for an IHI for individuals in Ireland. In March 2009, the Authority published “Recommendations for a Unique Health Identifier for Individuals in Ireland”, followed in Februaury 2010 by an “International review of Unique health Identifiers for Individuals”. The Authority is also a member of a group set up by the Department of Health and Children to scope the IHI for individuals in Ireland for the proposed Health Information Bill.

Unique Health Identifiers for Healthcare Practitioners (HPI) and Organisations (HOI)

In addition to IHIs, the Authority recommends that unique identifiers should also be assigned to all healthcare practitioners and organisations in Ireland.

Under the proposed system, every health and social care practitioner in Ireland will be assigned a unique number, known as the Health Practitioner Identifier (HPI) which will follow them throughout the course of their career irrespective of whether they change post or move to a new location. Similarly, each health and social care organisation will be allocated a unique number known as the Healthcare Organisation Identifier (HOI).

The introduction of these unique identifiers offers significant safety benefits to people who use services - both in terms of the increased accountability of healthcare practitioners and by improved communication of patient health information. These identifiers will ensure that those responsible for delivering care can be correctly and uniquely identified thus increasing safety and accountability.

What are individual health identifiers for practitioners and organisations?

Healthcare Practitioner Identifier (HPI) -  A healthcare practitioner identifier is a unique, non-transferable lifetime number assigned to a healthcare practitioner. Its purpose is to identify the individual as one and the same person and to allow the “attaching” of other information (such as name, address, contact details) to them.

Healthcare Organisation Identifier (HOI)  - A healthcare organisation identifier is a unique, non-transferable number assigned to healthcare organisations in Ireland. It will allow the attaching of a dataset to identify its location, contact details and operational sites.

What is the Central Directory?

Central Directory - A database to be populated with up-to-date and accurate information relating to healthcare practitioners and organisations. This information may be sourced from existing data repositories - that is, professional regulatory authorities or existing information and communication technology systems. The directory should be governed, managed and maintained by a designated authority with appropriate arrangements in place to ensure the confidentiality and appropriate use of the data.

Why introduce unique health identifiers for healthcare practitioners and organisations?

Clear accountability is a key driver towards enabling safety for patients and improving the quality of care delivered - unique identifiers are key to this. The HPI and HOI will clearly identify the person and organisation responsible at each stage of a service user’s care pathway.

The HPI and HOI will assist administrators of health information systems to manage the secure transfer of information between health practitioners. For example, referrals, discharge summaries and laboratory results require the secure exchange of health information. There are significant future benefits in terms of improved privacy and security of health information.

What are the key benefits?

The introduction of unique identifiers for practitioners and organisations offers significant safety benefits to people who use services - both in terms of the increased accountability of healthcare practitioners and by improved communication of patient health information.

In addition to these key patient safety gains there are further benefits forhealthcare practitioners, service planners, healthcare organisations and professional regulatory authorities. For further information on benefits see the summary report.

For example, these identifiers can:

• enable a greater range and improved accuracy in the use and sharing of health information
• allow for more comprehensive, accurate, health service human resource planning and research to take place
• support electronic prescriptions and the secure management of laboratory results and discharge letters
• support the introduction of the licensing system for health and social care proposed by Government
• create the ability to track linkages between practitioners, their location and the organisations they work for including when practitioners move between countries to work, and enable participation in European-wide credentialing systems

What is being done?

The Authority has published its report Recommendations for Unique Health Identifiers for Healthcare Practitioners and Organisations and associated summary document which outline the work to date and the recommendations made to the Minister for Health in relation to the phased introduction of HPIs and HOIs.