Australian Association of Practice Managers Ltd
Australian Association of Practice Managers Ltd. Excellence in healthcare management
The Healthcare Identifier (HI) Service
Why do we need Healthcare Identifiers?
Click to Download the HI Service User Guide for Practice Managers
The HI Service will give healthcare providers and individuals confidence that the right health information is associated with the right individual at the point of care. This is achieved with the allocation of a unique 16-digit number called a healthcare identifier which is assigned to each patient, practitioner and healthcare organisation.
The HI Service allocates 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 that deliver healthcare (such as hospitals and medical practices).
A healthcare identifier is not a health record. The information
held by the HI Service is limited to demographic information.
Healthcare identifiers do not replace Medicare or DVA numbers and
do not affect the way medical benefits are claimed. Signing up
your practice to the HI Service is one of the first steps you can
take to get eHealth ready.
Do practitioners have to apply for an HPI-I?
No. All practices registered through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) have been allocated an HPI-I. This may be obtained by logging onto the AHPRA website. Eligible practices not registered by AHPRA can obtain an HPI-I with DHS Medicare. For further enquiries on obtaining your HPI-I please contact Medicare's HI Service hotline on 1300 361 457 or healthcareidentifiers@humanservices.gov.au
How do I apply for my practice to receive an HPI-O?
Organisations can apply directly for an HPI-O via DHS Medicare.
How will I access the HI Service?
Practice management software is being updated to connect to the HI Service. This will allow practices access healthcare identifiers as part of their normal workflow. We encourage you to start a dialogue with your software provider for the latest developments.
Once you are confident your software is HI compliant, practices can obtain an individual's IHI from the HI Service and record it in their patient management software. Once they have included the IHI in their system, it can be attached to the demographic and clinical information stored within that system.
Information & Contacts
- The HI Service Brochure - Brochure containing general information on the HI Service
- For general HI Service enquiries please contact Medicare's HI Service hotline on 1300 361 457 or healthcareidentifiers@humanservices.gov.au
- For general eHealth enquiries please contact AAPM eHealth Marketing Officer, Hugh Miller on (03) 9095 8714 or hmiller@aapm.org.au
Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record
