What is Health Identification under the law in Vietnam? Is the health identification the same as the Social Insurance code in Vietnam?

Hello, Lawnet would like to provide the following answers:

On May 25, 2020, the Ministry of Health issued Decision 2153/QD-BYT on the regulations for establishing, using, and managing Health Identification. Thus, Social Insurance and Health Insurance codes will be integrated into the Health Identification.

1. What is Health Identification under the law in Vietnam?

The Health Identification (HID), is a data group used to identify the identity of an individual participating in healthcare services.

The basic characteristics of the health identification are specified in Article 5 of the regulations issued with Decision 2153/QD-BYT on May 25, 2020, as follows:

- Availability: Always ready, anytime, anywhere, for healthcare facilities to access and use the health identification.

- Identification: capable of identifying the identity of an individual associated with a valid identification code. Identification information may include the following: Social Insurance code, full name, date of birth, gender, identification card number, and registered address. This information is not used to generate the health identification, but it is used in conjunction with the health identification and can be updated in the event of valid change requests from individuals.

- Interoperability: The health identification can be used in combination with other information to create links between medical records across different information systems.

- Mapping: Ability to link with other identification codes.

- Authentication: Ability to verify the validity of the identification code.

Therefore, the Health Identification (HID) is a unique code issued to each individual participating in health insurance, aiming to accurately identify patient information and connect health data between healthcare facilities, ensuring the rights of health insurance participants.

At the same time, the health identification has basic characteristics such as availability, identification, interoperability, mapping, and authentication.

2. Is the health identification the same as the Social Insurance code in Vietnam?

According to the regulations stated in Clause 2, Article 2 of the regulations issued with Decision No. 2153/QD-BYT, the Social Insurance code is the unique personal identification number of the participants issued by the Social Insurance Agency to be recorded in the Social Insurance book and Health Insurance card as stipulated in Decision 346/QD-BHXH on March 28, 2019, issued by the Vietnam Social Insurance, which regulates the management and issuance of Social Insurance codes for participants in social insurance and health insurance.

Therefore, according to the above regulations, the health identification is the same as the Social Insurance code.

Some principles for determining the health identification are:

- Using the Social Insurance code as the health identification.

- Each individual is only issued one unique health identification, and each health identification is only issued to one individual and exists throughout their lifetime.

- Healthcare facilities use the health identification to link individuals' health information with electronic medical records, electronic health records, and other healthcare information software.

Therefore, the health identification is the same as the Social Insurance code to identify the identity of individuals participating in healthcare services. Each individual is only issued one unique health identification, and each health identification is only issued to one individual and exists throughout their lifetime.

3. Regulations on the issuance, use, and management of health identification in Vietnam

The issuance, use, and management of health identification are specifically regulated by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with Decision 2153/QD-BYT:

- Issuance and use of Health Identification

+ Each participant in social insurance and health insurance is only issued one unique Social Insurance code, and each Social Insurance code is only issued to one participant as regulated in Decision No. 346/QD-BHXH on March 28, 2019, issued by the Director-General of Vietnam Social Insurance, which regulates the management and issuance of Social Insurance codes.

+ Healthcare facilities can look up individuals' Social Insurance codes on the electronic portal of Vietnam Social Insurance or the data reception portal of the Health Insurance Information System.

+ When transferring patients' medical data, healthcare facilities use the health identification and related information to link the patient's information.

- Management of Health Identification

+ Vietnam Social Insurance, in coordination with the Ministry of Health (Information Technology Department), issues and manages the Social Insurance codes of individuals to ensure the safety and security of individuals' information.

+ Vietnam Social Insurance is responsible for providing complete information for looking up Social Insurance codes and related identification information of individuals to serve healthcare activities.

+ Healthcare facilities are responsible for managing the Health Identification of patients to ensure privacy, safety, and security of information.

Therefore, each participant in social insurance and health insurance is only issued one unique health identification, and each health identification is only issued to one individual.

At the same time, Vietnam Social Insurance and the Ministry of Health closely manage the issuance and use of Social Insurance codes to ensure the safety of individuals' personal information. Healthcare facilities are responsible for safeguarding the information about health identification and ensuring the privacy and security of the data.

Good management of medical identification codes will help improve the quality of medical examinations and treatments covered by health insurance, contributing to protecting the rights of participants.

Best regards!

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