A bill has been introduced to the parliament by the federal government regarding appointments of individual healthcare identifiers (IHIs). According to the proposed bill, in Australia, every person and health-care providers will be assigned a 16-digit number by middle of this year, for making the flow of health information regarding the individuals easier. To avoid any kind of misuse of this bill, amendments to the Privacy Act will be made giving Federal Privacy Commissioner the authority to act.

This decision of appointing IHIs has been made to initiate an e-health system ensured with a protected and correct exchange of health information between providers.

Health Minister, Nicola Roxon. “IHIs are essential in creating a single process to accurately and consistently identify patients and healthcare providers. The establishment of IHIs spells the end of this fragmented approach which causes inaccuracies and inefficiencies in the health system and puts patients at a higher risk of mismatched records and duplicate medical tests.”

National e-health system, which has been initially under National E-Health and Transition Authority’s (NEHTA) supervision last year and had developed a four-part e-health strategy for 2009 to 2012, will be backed by these identifiers.