The ability to identify the professionals and organisations who provide frontline services is a key requirement for a safe, transparent and accountable healthcare system.

The Health Information and Quality Authority has published Recommendations for Unique Health Identifiers for Healthcare Practitioners and Organisations, which deals directly with this issue and presents guidance on the introduction of unique identifiers for healthcare practitioners and organisations in Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Professor Jane Grimson, Director of Health Information with HIQA said: “Wehave previously recommended the introduction of unique identifiers for individuals so that high quality and reliable healthcare which ensures maximum patient safety can be ensured. However, equally important is a national system for uniquely identifying healthcare practitioners and organisations.”

“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).”

“HIQA is recommending that the upcoming Health Information Bill specifically legislates for the introduction of these identifiers through the establishment of a central directory or database which will act as a single authoritative reference point. Having one trusted source of information on all healthcare practitioners will be of benefit from a regulatory perspective and enable the tracking and tracing of practitioners throughout the healthcare system” said Professor Grimson.

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 patient and frontline service safety gains, healthcare practitioners will benefit from improved communication and a reduction in administration through supporting improved electronic communication of patient information.

Similarly, healthcare organisations and planners will benefit from a reduction in the administrative effort in identifying individuals, in the maintenance of their own identity management system and from improved data and information regarding our health sector.

Taking account of current resources and the availability of data sourced from existing regulatory authorities’ registries, HIQA is proposing that both identifiers be introduced on a phased basis. The Board of the Authority has approved the Report and submitted it to the Minister for Health for his consideration with the expectation that this report will inform the Health Information Bill.

Further Information: 

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Directorate,
01 8147481/ 086 2447623 or email mwhelan@hiqa.ie

Notes to the Editor: 

Key terms used in the report:

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.

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.

Key benefits of HPIs/HOIs:

Benefits for people who use health and social care services:

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.

Benefits for healthcare practitioners:

The HPI and HOI are fundamental tools that will enable a greater range and improved accuracy in the use and sharing of health information, both electronically and manually. For instance, unique identifiers for healthcare practitioners and organisations will allow healthcare practitioners to send electronic prescriptions and receive laboratory results and discharge letters.

Benefits for service planners:

The HPI and HOI will provide a single trusted source of data which will allow for more comprehensive, accurate, health service human resource planning and research to take place. Most importantly, policy makers will be able to accurately plan and coordinate treatment and care.

Benefits for healthcare organisations:

The ability to track linkages between practitioners, their location and the organisations they work for in the delivery of care will be facilitated through the introduction of the HPI and HOI. As a result, HPIs and HOIs can also support the introduction of the licensing system for health and social care proposed by Government. The availability of the HPI and HOI are key enablers for electronic communication of health information.

Benefits for professional regulatory authorities:

As many healthcare practitioners move between countries to work, implementing a HOI for healthcare practitioners and organisations provides a better ability to identify practitioners and participate in European-wide credentialing systems.