AU Patient Internal Identifier

This identifier profile defines a patient internal identifier in an Australian context. A patient internal identifier is assigned to a patient by an application (e.g. practice management system or a cloud-based electronic medical record) to uniquely identify a patient within that application.

While a patient internal identifier can be exchanged with other applications, its scope for sharing is limited and typically occurs for context-specific patient matching (e.g. a patient internal identifier included in a pathology request can be returned in the associated pathology report). This identifier is only unique within the assigning application and is not suitable for broader use as a persistent identifier, unlike a Medical Record Number (MRN), which is unique within an institution.