Data used to categorize individuals for identification, records matching, and other purposes.

Data Element
Identifier
Description
An identifier for the patient
Submitted By: Sarah Gaunt / Lantana Consulting Group
Data Element Information
Use Case Description(s)
Use Case Description Electronic case reporting requires Patient identifier.
Estimate the breadth of applicability of the use case(s) for this data element This data is exchanged as part of the extensive implementation of electronic case reporting in the US. Target is nationwide, currently 5400+ sites are reporting. There are between 56 and 2400 public health agencies using this data. Electronic case reporting is also cited in the Cares Act regulations.
Link to use case project page http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/product_brief.cfm?product_id=436; http://hl7.org/fhir/us/ecr/;
Healthcare Aims
  • Improving patient experience of care (quality and/or satisfaction)
  • Improving the health of populations
  • Reducing the cost of care
  • Improving provider experience of care
Maturity of Use and Technical Specifications for Data Element
Applicable Standard(s) FHIR US Core
https://www.hl7.org/fhir/us/core/
Additional Specifications https://www.hl7.org/fhir/us/core/
Current Use Extensively used in production environments
Supporting Artifacts This data is exchanged as part of the extensive implementation of electronic case reporting in the US. Target is nationwide, currently 5400+ sites are reporting. There are between 56 and 2400 public health agencies using this data. Electronic case reporting is also cited in the Cares Act regulations.
http://hl7.org/fhir/us/ecr/; http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/product_brief.cfm?product_id=436
Extent of exchange 5 or more. This data element has been tested at scale between multiple different production environments to support the majority of anticipated stakeholders.
Supporting Artifacts Electronic Case Reporting: Target is nationwide, currently 5400+ sites are reporting. There are between 56 and 2400 public health agencies using this data.
Potential Challenges
Restrictions on Standardization (e.g. proprietary code) None
Restrictions on Use (e.g. licensing, user fees) None
Privacy and Security Concerns No concerns over and above the typically privacy and security considerations associated with any health related data.
Estimate of Overall Burden This data element is straightforward in nature and should not present a large burden to implement provided the EHR system is capturing the data.
ONC Evaluation Details
Each submitted Data Element has been evaluated based on the following criteria. The overall Level classification is a composite of the maturity based on these individual criteria. This information can be used to identify areas that require additional work to raise the overall classification level and consideration for inclusion in future versions of USCDI
Criterion #1
Maturity - Current Standards		 Level 2 - Data element is represented by a terminology standard or SDO-balloted technical specification or implementation guide.
Criterion #2
Maturity - Current Use 		Level 2 - Data element is captured, stored, or accessed in multiple production EHRs or other HIT modules from more than one developer.
Criterion #3
Maturity - Current Exchange		 Level 2 - Data element is electronically exchanged between more than two production EHRs or other HIT modules of different developers using available interoperability standards.
Criterion #4
Use Case(s) - Breadth of Applicability		 Level 2 - Use cases apply to most care settings or specialties.

Comment

Submitted by nedragarrett_CDC on 2021-09-28

Unified Comment from CDC

  • General Comment: This comment supports the promotion of the Data Class Patient Demographics - Data Element Identifier to USCDI V3 as well as the additional Data Element of Identifier System, including the allowance of multiple instances of Identifier/ Identifier System pairs per patient (approach 1). We believe that this will allow needed flexibility to accommodate use and exchange of the variety of patient identifiers in current use in the US. An example of this approaches is: Identifier: 333224444, Identifier System: http://hl7.org/fhir/sid/us-ssn.  
  • If ONC does not choose to incorporate approach 1, (Identifier + Identifier System), in USCDI V3, we recommend allowing for the following Patient Demographic Data Class Data Elements in USCDI V3: Medicare Patient Identifier, Medical Record Number and Social Security Number. (approach 2) We believe that allowing for both approaches would be confusing, so we recommend choosing one or the other.

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