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ANSWER BACK: Why will NHS number soon be compulsory?(Brief Article)
Q: Why do patients need a lifelong NHS number and how do they acquire one?
A: As of October 2002, every patient on the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) in England and Wales, including babies born after that date, has been issued with a unique 10-digit number. This is a common identifier for patients and their records across different NHS organisations. Use of the number will become mandatory in NHS records from June this year.
Currently many hospital IT systems use locally generated `district numbers' to identify patients within their own trusts. Not only does this create problems should a GP refer a patient to another trust, but because similarly named patients often generate very similar district numbers there is a danger of a patient being incorrectly identified.
In the case of hospital blood transfusion or pharmacy departments, this can have serious consequences for any subsequent administration of ...