Healthcare Identifiers legislation passed

Legislation to set up the Healthcare Identifiers Service was passed by Federal Parliament on Thursday 24 June.

All patients will get individual healthcare identifiers (IHIs) under the Healthcare Identifiers Act. The Government claims that IHIs will improve safety and quality for patients and cut waste and duplication.

Unique healthcare identifiers will be allocated by the Healthcare Identifiers Service, operated by Medicare Australia.

The IHI is separate to an electronic health record and holds only enough information to clearly identify a person.

Unauthorised use of healthcare identifiers will be subject to offence and penalty provisions.

Healthcare professionals will be able to retrieve a patient’s IHI using their current Medicare card or DVA treatment card or via a demographic search.

Regulations to support the Healthcare Identifiers Service will be considered by the Federal Executive Council. The regulations will help healthcare providers and software vendors better understand how the IHIs will affect their current business practices.

The Department of Health and Ageing has now updated their FAQs about IHIs.