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This webinar was recorded on 8th May 2024 

Speakers:  

  • Lisa Farrelly, Business Manager, Health Identifier Service, HSE 

  • Loretto Grogan, National Chief Nursing and Midwifery Information Officer, HSE 

Resources: 

Lisa Farrelly – Presentation 

Loretto Grogan – Presentation

Summary: 

The webinar introduces HSE Health Identifiers Service (HIDS) and the importance of Individual Health Identifiers (IHIs) in the Irish healthcare system. IHIs are unique 10-digit numbers used to safely identify individuals and link them across multiple health systems and services. Key points of IHIs, how they work in action, the 2023/2024 development plan and IHI integration in to national patient systems are outlined. The IHI index uses searchable data items to match individuals to their correct IHI, and Lisa highlights the importance of increasing IHI match rates to improve patient safety and efficiency. Education and training around IHI usage is also outlined.

The webinar also addresses the challenges of dealing with data in various formats and locations and the need to reduce complexity and simplify data management by standardising data. The need for standardisation and accurate data input to ensure successful implementation of digital health initiatives, such as health apps and electronic health records is outlined.  Loretto details advocacy for digital health and data standardisation and emphasises the importance of getting data right at the capture stage in order to provide effective healthcare. An overview of the digital health strategic implementation roadmap, National health information policy and European health data space is also provided.