Healthcare Identifiers Service
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.
Information guides
Medicare Australia has developed the following information guides to help users of the HI service understand their role.
- Healthcare Identifier overview [PDF, 148Kb]
An overview of the HI service - Healthcare Identifiers – Responsible Officer Information Guide [PDF, 140Kb]
For the officer of an organisation who has accepted responsibility for their organisation's participation in the HI Service - Healthcare Identifiers – Organisation Maintenance Officer Information Guide [PDF, 147Kb]
For the officer of an organisation that is responsible for maintaining information about their organisation within the HI Service - Healthcare Identifiers – Authorised User Information Guide [PDF, 139Kb]
For individuals within an organisation that require access to IHI records to assist with patient administration - Healthcare Identifiers – Individual Healthcare Provider Information Guide [PDF, 159Kb]
For individuals who provide healthcare services to the general public.
Medicare Australia is working towards an independent solution to support contracted service providers.
For more information email healthcareidentifiers@medicareaustralia.gov.au
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.
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 |
|---|---|
|
Healthcare Identifiers Service |
Register a new seed organisation and associated personnel |
| 2849 - Application to Register an Organisation Maintenance Officer (OMO) and/or Networked Organisation [PDF, 127Kb] |
Register an organisation maintenance officer for an existing network organisation AND/OR Register a new network organisation and/or organisation maintenance officer |
| 2977 - Application to Register a Healthcare Provider Individual [PDF, 128Kb] |
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 |
| 2791 – Application to amend a Responsible Officer or Organisation Maintenance officer personal information [PDF, 118Kb] |
Change personal details of an existing responsible officer or organisation maintenance officer |
| 2883 – Application to add or amend details of a Healthcare Organisation record [PDF, 122Kb] |
Add or change the details of an existing seed or network organisation |
| 2998 – Application to link or unlink a Responsible Officer or Organisation Maintenance Officer to or from an Organisation [PDF, 124Kb] |
Link or unlink an existing responsible officer or organisation maintenance officer to or from an existing seed or network organisation |
| 2999 – Application to amend a Healthcare Provider Record [PDF, 122Kb] |
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 |
| 3000 – Application to deactivate, reactivate or retire a Healthcare Organisation record [PDF, 113Kb] |
Deactivate, reactivate or retire a healthcare organisation's identifier |
| 3054 – Application to request a PKI certificate for HI Service access or update an existing certificate for HI Services [PDF, 114Kb] |
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 |
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, you can 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's online solutions (for example, Eclipse, Online claiming for PBS, 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 only be able to be used for HI Service purposes.
Complete the Registered Medicare Australia Healthcare Professional Individual Certificate application if you need to use other Medicare Australia's online solutions—now or in the future. You will need to provide evidence of identity with this form.
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-I Provider Type Classification Reference Guide [PDF, 34Kb]
To help you understand the provider types supported by the HI Service - HPI-O Organisation Type Classification Reference Guide [PDF, 199Kb]
To help you understand the organisation types supported by the HI Service
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: 7 September, 2010
