Healthcare Identifiers Service
On this page
- About the Healthcare Identifiers Service
- Healthcare Identifiers Service Annual Report 2010-11
- Contracted Service Provider (CSP) Organisations
- Authorised Employee Logging
- Information guides
- Healthcare organisation forms
- Individual healthcare provider forms
- HPD/PKI online consent form
- Contracted service provider forms
- Accessing the HI Service with PKI
- Reference guides
- Information for Software Vendors developing for the Healthcare Identifiers Service
- For more information
About the Healthcare Identifiers Service
The Federal, state and territory governments have developed a national Healthcare Identifiers Service (HI Service) which will uniquely identify healthcare providers and individuals who seek healthcare. Medicare Australia is the operator of the HI Service.
The HI Service will give individuals and healthcare providers confidence that the right health information is associated with the right individual at the point of care.
There are three types of Healthcare Identifiers.
- Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI)—allocated to all individuals enrolled in the Medicare program or those who are issued with a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) treatment card and others who seek healthcare in Australia.
- Healthcare Provider Identifier—Individual (HPI-I) –allocated to healthcare providers involved in providing patient care.
- Healthcare Provider Identifier—Organisation (HPI-O) –allocated to organisations (such as a hospital or medical clinic) where healthcare is provided.
IHIs have been created to be used by healthcare providers to improve the security and efficient management of an individual’s personal health information with strict privacy laws governing how these numbers are used.
IHIs do not replace Medicare or DVA numbers and do not affect the way medical benefits are claimed.
Individuals can view their IHI history online by registering for Medicare Australia's Online Services.
IHIs are not health records. The information held is limited to demographic information (such as name, date of birth and sex) which is needed to uniquely identify an individual and their healthcare providers.
IHIs are an essential building block needed to support the future of eHealth in Australia.
Healthcare Identifiers Service Annual Report 2010-11
Under the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010, the HI Service Operator is required to provide a report on the first year of operations to the Minister for Health and Ageing. You can find details on the assignment and management of healthcare identifiers, the service levels under which we operate financial statements and more in this report.
Contracted Service Provider (CSP) Organisations
CSP organisations provide:
- information technology services relating to the communication of health information and/or health information management services under contract to healthcare provider organisations registered with the HI Service.
Before CSP organisations can access the HI Service on the healthcare organisation’s behalf, it must:
- be registered with the HI Service
- be linked to a registered healthcare organisation.
A CSP organisation must have a minimum of one and a maximum of three CSP officers linked to the CSP organisation.
A CSP organisation can be linked to a healthcare organisation (in the HI Service) by the responsible officer of the healthcare organisation.
Authorised Employee Logging
The Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 requires a healthcare organisation registered with the HI Service to keep authorised employee information for seven years after an employee has ceased working at the organisation.
The authorised employee logging function allows healthcare organisations to be able to store authorised employee details (demographic information and limited personal details) within the HI Service rather than in their local systems. Authorised employees can also contact Medicare Australia for HI Service support.
Authorised employee details must be submitted by an organisation maintenance officer (OMO). Go to Healthcare Identifiers Service - Authorised employee register form to complete authorised employee details.
Go to Online User Guide – Healthcare Identifiers (HI) Service for information on how to submit the completed spreadsheet using the Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) email facility.
Information guides
Medicare Australia has developed the following information guides to help users of the HI service understand their role.
- Healthcare Identifiers Service information guide – Introduction and overview [PDF, 133Kb]
An overview of the HI service - Healthcare Identifiers Service information guide – Responsible officer [PDF, 118Kb]
For the officer of an organisation who has accepted responsibility for their organisation's participation in the HI Service - Healthcare Identifiers Service information guide – Organisation maintenance officer [PDF, 121Kb]
For the officer of an organisation that is responsible for maintaining information about their organisation within the HI Service - Healthcare Identifiers Service information guide – Authorised employee [PDF, 124Kb]
For individuals within an organisation that require access to IHI records to assist with patient administration - Healthcare Identifiers Service information guide – Individual healthcare provider [PDF, 132Kb]
For individuals who provide healthcare services to the general public. - Healthcare Identifiers Service information guide – Contracted service provider [PDF, 147Kb]
For more information email healthcareidentifiers@medicareaustralia.gov.au
Healthcare organisation forms
To register with the HI Service and receive your healthcare identifier, you will need to complete the appropriate form(s) below and provide supporting documentation to Medicare Australia. Each form includes details of what you will need to provide.
This section includes forms for registering and updating information for healthcare organisations, responsible officers, organisation maintenance officers and authorised employees.
| Form | Short description of form |
|---|---|
| 2978 - Application to register a Seed Organisation [PDF, 180Kb] |
Register a new seed organisation and associated personnel |
| 2849 - Application to Register a Network Organisation [PDF, 134Kb] |
Register a new network organisation. |
| 2711 - Application to replace a Responsible officer or add/ remove an Organisation Maintenance Officer for an Organisation [PDF, 177Kb] |
Replace a Responsible Officer (RO) for a Seed Organisation Remove an Organisation Maintenance Officer (OMO) from a Seed or Network Organisation. |
| 2791 – Application to amend Organisation Officer's personal information [PDF, 125Kb] |
Change personal details of an existing responsible officer or organisation maintenance officer |
| 2883 – Application to amend a Healthcare Organisation record [PDF, 140Kb] |
Add or change the details of an existing seed or network organisation |
| 3000 – Application to deactivate, reactivate or retire a Healthcare Organisation record [PDF, 113Kb] |
Deactivate, reactivate or retire a healthcare organisation's identifier |
Individual healthcare provider forms
To register with the HI Service, you need to complete the appropriate form(s) below and provide supporting documents to Medicare Australia. Each form lists what you need to provide.
Note: if you are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
, the agency will allocate you with a Healthcare Provider Identifier – Individual (HPI-I) and advise you of the number. You do not need to complete a form to register for a HPI-I.*
If your details with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency are incorrect, you will need to contact the agency to update your information.
| Form | Short description of form |
|---|---|
| 2977 - Application to Register a Healthcare Provider [PDF, 151Kb] |
Register a healthcare provider individual *Only complete this form if the field of practice you wish to register with the HI Service is not covered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) in your state or territory. |
| 2999 – Application to amend a Healthcare Provider Record [PDF, 141Kb] |
Add or change the details of an existing healthcare provider individual. *If your field of practice is registered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency in your state or territory, you must contact the agency to update your details. |
HPD/PKI online consent form
| Form | Short description of form |
|---|---|
| Healthcare Identifiers Service Form |
Authority to publish provider details in the Healthcare Provider Directory (HPD) AND/OR Request Healthcare Identifiers Service access using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) |
Contracted service provider forms
To register with the HI Service, you will need to complete the appropriate form(s) below and provide supporting documents to Medicare Australia. Each form lists what you need to provide.
| Form | Short description of form |
|---|---|
| 4716 - Application to Register a Contracted Service Provider [PDF, 155Kb] |
Register a CSP organisation and CSP officer(s). |
| 4715 – Application to add, replace or remove a Contracted Service officer [PDF, 145Kb] |
Add, replace or remove a contracted service provider officer. |
| 4717 – Application to link or unlink a Contracted Service Provider organisation [PDF, 138Kb] |
Link or unlink a CSP organisation to a healthcare organisation. This can only be completed and submitted by a responsible officer of a healthcare organisation. |
| 4918 – Application to amend details of a Contracted Service Provider organisation record. [PDF, 142Kb] |
Amend details of a CSP organisation. |
| 4919 – Application to amend a Contracted Service Provider Officer’s personal details. [PDF, 142Kb] |
Amend details of a CSP officer. |
| 4920 – Application to deactivate or retire a Contracted Service Provider organisation record. [PDF, 130Kb] |
Deactivate or retire a CSP organisation. |
Accessing the HI Service with PKI
What you need to know before completing the Application to request a PKI certificate for HI Service access or update an existing certificate for HI Services
If you have an existing Medicare Australia PKI Certificate, contact Medicare Australia on 1300 361 457 or use this form to update the permissions to include access to the HI Service.
If you are requesting a new Medicare Australia PKI Certificate and have provided evidence of identity to Medicare Australia as part of your HI Service registration, use this form to request a certificate that can be updated to include access to other Medicare Australia online solutions (for example, ECLIPSE, Online claiming for PBS or Aged Care Online Claiming).
If you are requesting a new PKI Certificate and have not supplied evidence of identity to Medicare Australia as part of your HI registration, the PKI Certificate you will receive can only be used to access the HI Service.
Please read the Individual/Provider Certificate information and complete the appropriate forms if you need to use other Medicare Australia online solutions—now or in the future. You will need to provide evidence of identify with these forms.
| 3054 – Application to request or update a PKI certificate [PDF, 109Kb] |
Request a PKI certificate to access the Healthcare Identifiers Service (if you have successfully registered with the service). OR Request to update your existing PKI certificate to include access to the Healthcare Identifiers Service |
Reference guides
To help you understand provider and organisation types and to complete the HI Service forms, the following reference guides have been developed.
- HPI-O Organisation Type Classification Reference Guide [PDF, 199Kb]
- HPI-I - Provider Type Classification Reference Guide [PDF, 24Kb]
Information for Software Vendors developing for the Healthcare Identifiers Service
Information and contact details for new and current software vendors wishing to build or modify their software products to incorporate connection to the Healthcare Identifiers Service can be found at Information about the Healthcare Identifiers Service for developers section of the website.
For more information
- Call 1300 361 457.
- Email healthcareidentifiers@medicareaustralia.gov.au
- For a history of the development of the HI Service and the consultation process visit the Department of Health and Ageing website
- For information about eHealth, including frequently asked questions about the HI Service visit the eHealth website
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Last updated: 2 November, 2011