Healthcare identifiers

Healthcare identifiers are 16-digit numbers that uniquely identify healthcare recipients and healthcare providers as well as digitally connect individuals receiving healthcare in Australia to the providers and organisations delivering that care.

 

There are three types of healthcare identifiers:

  1. Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) – identifies a consumer (patient / client / person) receiving healthcare. An IHI uniquely identifies individuals who receive healthcare, including Australian citizens, permanent residents and visitors to Australia.

  2. Healthcare Provider Identifier–Individual (HPI–I) – identifies an individual healthcare provider who provides healthcare, such as general practitioners, allied health professionals, specialists, nurses, dentists and pharmacists, among others.

  3. Healthcare Provider Identifier–Organisation (HPI–O) – identifies the healthcare provider organisation where healthcare is provided, such as hospitals, allied health services, pathology or radiology laboratories and pharmacies.

The Healthcare Identifiers (HI) Service, operated by Services Australia, allocates, maintains and discloses healthcare identifiers to assist in communicating and managing health information.

What is the purpose of healthcare identifiers?

Healthcare Identifiers facilitate the accurate matching of health information to the individuals receiving care and the providers delivering care as the information moves between digital software systems.

Accurate identification and matching of information to the right individual is fundamental to an interoperable health system, where information follows a healthcare consumer and is available whether they access primary or acute care and public or private health services.

When allied health professionals share a consumer’s health information from their clinical information system (electronic health record) to digital products like My Health Record (MHR), electronic prescription and secure messaging services, the HPI-I supports safe information exchange.

This process gives both healthcare providers and consumers confidence they are using the correct information, wherever and whenever they provide or receive healthcare.

Why is it essential allied health providers get an HPI-I?

Obtaining an HPI-I is essential for allied health professionals seeking to participate in Australia's digital health ecosystem. As digital health becomes standard practice, having an HPI-I is increasingly critical for:

  • Working efficiently and effectively in multi-disciplinary care teams

  • Enabling continuity of care across settings

  • Providing optimal care in the timeliest manner

  • Safeguarding consumers against unregistered and non-credentialled professionals

  • Improving business efficiencies and workflows

  • Empowering consumers and their support networks to engage with and be in control of their health information 

  • Enhancing professional visibility

  • Meeting privacy, security and regulatory requirements

  • Facilitating research, policy development and population health planning initiatives including addressing workforce challenges via sharing of data. 

HI uptake is a key deliverable of the National Healthcare Identifiers Roadmap and the National Healthcare Interoperability Plan as it is such a fundamental enabler to sharing of health information in an efficient, safe and secure manner.

Benefits of using an HPI-I

Benefits of using an HPI-I are available at a clinical, organisation and system level. These include: 

    • Accurate and safe exchange of information between software systems in near real time so you have the information you need available at the time you are providing care.

    • Ability to connect with, view, receive and share information within digital products like My Health Record, Provider Connect AustraliaTM, electronic prescribing and secure messaging so you can access and share consumer health information more efficiently within care teams and with consumers.

    • Reduced risk of the wrong information being attributed to a consumers health record.

    • Can improve the safety and security of the way you are receiving and sharing health related information for both yourself and your clients, helping to ensure compliance with Australian Privacy Principles.

    • Ensure other health professionals can find you to make referrals via the Health Provider Directory.

    • As payment and claims reforms roll out, HPI-I use and sharing of information will likely be mandatory for reimbursement.

    • Can improve reliability and efficiency of mandatory data reporting.

    • Consumers can be empowered to manage which healthcare professionals access and contribute to their health information.

    • Data collection to inform research, policy planning and development at local and national levels becomes possible.

    • Minimises unnecessary duplication of diagnostic tests and investigations, lowering costs and reducing risks for consumers.

    • Only credentialled, eligible health professionals receive a HPI-I, ensuring information flows only between verified health professionals; establishing trust and professional visibility in the information available.

 

How do you get an HPI-I?

Ahpra registered healthcare providers

If you are currently registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) you will have been allocated a Healthcare Provider Identifier – Individual (HPI-I) number. If you are unsure what it is, you can find it in one of these ways:

  1. Correspondence sent to you from Ahpra will contain your HPI-I.

  2. Log into Ahpra's online portal or call Ahpra on 1300 419 495.

  3. Log onto PRODA and click link identifiers on the Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) tile. Input your Ahpra registration number into the allocated field and click search. Try also your HPOS mailbox.

Non-Ahpra registered healthcare providers

There are two different pathways via which non-Ahpra registered healthcare providers can register for an HPI-I:

  1. Via the relevant professional body for the healthcare profession you practice. All professional bodies who are AHPA members (both full and affiliate) are eligible to facilitate this, however it is a new process and not all professional bodies have the processes in place. Professional bodies who do facilitate this pathway are listed here.

  2. Via the Healthcare Identifiers Service, follow the steps detailed here.

Professional bodies may process application requests differently based on their internal processes. Processing times may vary between professional bodies because of these different processes. Services Australia will identify any duplication requests to ensure that only one HPI-I is assigned to an individual.

Once you have received your HPI-I, you will be required to finalise and activate your HPI-I by visiting Services Australia and completing your identity verification. Once this is complete, your HPI-I will be active.

Using your HPI-I

To connect with and use digital products like My Health Record, PCATM, electronic prescribing or secure messaging, your HPI-I needs to be:

  1. Activated via your PRODA account – see how here.

  2. Linked to a registered organisations HPI-O.

    Identify and work with the responsible officer (RO) or organisation maintenance officer (OMO) within each organisation you work and ask them to link your HPI-I to their HPI-O. The instructions for them to do so are included here.

    NB: You can be linked to more than one organisation, identified as practicing more than one profession and hold membership or be credentialled by more than one professional body, however, you will always only have one HPI-I and use it across all these situations.

Once your HPI-I is connected to a HPI-O you can begin to connect with and use digital products like My Health Record, Secure Messaging and Electronic Prescribing to share information with other healthcare providers. Follow the links for each product to find out more about them and the next steps to start using them via the different tiles within AHPA’s digital health hub.

NB: Your organisation has to be registered with these digital products for you to be able to use them. Talk with your colleagues about your need to use these products if your organisation isn’t yet registered or sign up yourself if you are a sole trader.

Frequently asked questions

  • ‍ ‍

    Ongoing credentialling by your professional body is required to maintain HPI-I eligibility. Evidence you remain credentialled needs to be provided to Services Australia either via your professional body or by you independently. Without this evidence in the required timeframe Services Australia will deactivate your HPI-I to ensure only safe to practice professionals have an active HPI-I. The process for providing this evidence independent of your professional body is outlined here.

  • The responsible officer (RO) or organisation maintenance officer (OMO) must link your HPI-I to any healthcare provider’s HPI-O. Identify your RO or OMO and they can then follow these steps.

    If you are a sole trader, you create your own HPI-O for your business and link you HPI-I. In this instance you are the OMO.

    1. Log into your PRODA account

    2. Log into HPOS

    3. Register for an HPI-O using your ABN

    4. Nominate yourself as OMO

    5. Link your HPI-I to your HPI-O.

  • No, an HPI-I is connected to your personal details as a practicing health professional and does not change irrelevant of which professional discipline you are practicing, which organisation you are working for and linked to, or which professional body provides you with credentialling.

    You can follow these steps to add another health profession to your existing HPI-I in the Healthcare Identifiers Service.

  • No, an HPI-I is connected to your personal details as a practicing health professional and does not change irrelevant of which professional body provides you with credentialling, which professional discipline you are practicing or which organisation you are working for and linked to.

  • Via the Healthcare Identifiers Service, follow the steps detailed here.