Automatic Identification and Data Capture for Patient Identification
Defines how to encode NHS approved patient identifiers into a two-dimensional barcode.
About this standard
- Publisher
- NHS England
- Reference code
- DCB1077 Amd 67/2018
- Publication date
- 26/03/2020
- Status
- Active
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Active. Active standards are stable, maintained and have been approved, assured or endorsed for use by qualified bodies.
Deprecated Deprecated standards are available for use and are maintained, but are being phased out, so new functionality will not be added.
Retired standards Retired standards are not being maintained or supported and should not be used.
- Standard type
- Information standards
Show definitions of standard types
Collections. A Collection is a systematic gathering of a specified selection of data or information for a particular stated purpose from existing records held within health and care systems and electronic devices.
Extractions. An extraction is a type of collection that is pulled from an operational system by the data controller and transmitted to the receiver without additional processing or transcription by the sender.
Information standards. Information standards are agreed ways of doing something, written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines, or definitions.
Technical Standards and specifications. Technical standards and specifications specify how to make information available technically including how the data is structured and transported.
- Contact point
Link to standard
- Documentation
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- Applies to
- Health care settings in England where an identity band is worn by the patient.
- Impacts on
- Implementation of this information standard impacts all health IT systems suppliers providing systems to the above providers; suppliers should work with their customers to determine necessary changes.
- Associated medias
- Conformance date
- 31/12/2021
- Effective from
- 31/12/2020
Topics and care settings
- Topic
- GS1
- Care setting
- Hospital
- Maternity
- Mental health
- Social care
- Urgent and Emergency Care
Dependencies and related standards
- Dependencies
This standard needs to be reviewed and implemented alongside:
- Related standards
- ISB 0099 Patient Identifiers for Identity Bands
- ISB 0149 NHS Number Standard Specification
- ISB 1555 Birth Notifications
- DCB0129 Clinical Risk Management: its Application in the Manufacture of Health IT Systems
- DCB0160 Clinical Risk Management: its Application in the Deployment and Use of Health IT Systems
- ISBT 128 Identification, labelling & information processing of human blood, tissue & organ products
- ISO/IEC 15415 Information technology; automatic identification and data capture techniques This standard includes barcode print quality test specification; two-dimensional symbols.
- ISO/IEC 15426-2 Information technology; automatic identification and data capture techniques This includes barcode verifier conformance specification - Part 2: Two-dimensional symbols
- ISO/IEC 16022 Information technology; automatic identification and data capture techniques This includes Data Matrix barcode symbology specification.
Review Information
- Scope
- NHS Services
- Sponsor
Ian Townend, Lead Architect, Interoperability and Architecture, NHSX
- Senior Responsible Officer
Jo Goulding, Principal Terminology Specialist, NHS Digital
- Business Lead
- Paul Reid, Head of Standards and Consulting, GS1 UK
- Approval date
- 20/12/2019
- Post Implementation review Date
- 31/12/2021
Legal basis and endorsements
- Legal authority
Section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012
This information standard is published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012
More information
This standard and the change introduced in this release may be used with immediate effect.
Where organisations choose to implement the changes introduced in this release, conformance with the standard is due by 31 December 2020. This standard defines how to encode the NHS approved patient identifiers into the GS1 DataMatrix barcode (a two-dimensional barcode) and covers production, verification and printing rules for the barcode. The resulting data set is the Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) for Patient Identification Data Set.
This standard supports the accurate, timely and safer identification of NHS patients in England, by using open standards for positive patient identification. The standard uses ISB 0099: Patient Identifiers for Identity Bands and the GS1 System of Standards for code numbering and barcoding, which is outlined in ISB 0108: AIDC: Automatic Identification and Data Capture.
Note: this standard is not mandatory for providers, but where providers do choose to use barcoded patient identifiers, they MUST conform to this standard and ensure that all mandatory data items are configured accordingly.
About this change
This change to the standard brings it in line with existing GS1 standards by allowing:
- The new use of an SRIN (Service Relation Instance Number) which allows the episode of care to be included in the printed wristband
- The use of a GLN (Global Location Number) to identify the hospital where the wristband was printed in conjunction with ODS code and the local patient identifier, when the NHS Number is not available.
- In addition to the two new data items, the following existing data items were updated to align with the NHS Data Model and Dictionary:
- ORGANISATION IDENTIFIER (CODE OF PROVIDER) is now between three to six alphanumeric characters and MANDATORY
- LOCAL PATIENT IDENTIFIER (EXTENDED) is now up to 20 alphanumeric characters and MANDATORY
Where organisations choose to implement the changes introduced in this release, conformance with the standard is due by 31 December 2020.
Page last updated: 27 February 2024