All health service users will be assigned unique identity number
People who use the health and social care services are to be given a unique identity number.
The Individual Health Identifiers - or IHI's - are part of a new scheme by HIQA to improve patient safety and cut down on mistakes.
This HIQA scheme will begin this year and will be piloted in three areas.
A unique number will be given to every person who uses the health service or social care services, and it will stay with them for their lifetime.
The authority said by uniquely identifying people, it is possible to reduce the number of mistakes that may occur, such as giving the patient incorrect medication or vaccinations, or admitting an incorrect patient for surgery.
The numbers will also provide data to help improve planning.
The IHIs will be operated by the HSE, which will be responsible for safely storing all personal data. The executive is currently undergoing an assessment to ensure all privacy risks are addressed.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said: “The Individual Health Identifier will be a major step forward in modernising our health service. It will allow us to follow patients and staff as they move through the health service in a way we currently can't.
"This will improve patient safety, reduce duplication and errors, and give us a huge amount of new data that we can use to make services more efficient and improve planning.”
