The NHS Number Programme has issued guidance to encourage the use of the NHS Number in general practice.
The Department of Health told EHI Primary Care that there are no national figures for use of the NHS Number by GPs; although audits by individual acute trusts suggest that the majority use it routinely.
A spokesperson added: “There are, however, some GPs still not providing NHS Numbers on referrals and test requests and we would urge them to do so.”
The guidance sets out the benefits of using the NHS Number, the impact of not using the NHS Number, and best practice for use of the NHS Number within primary care.
The NHS Number Programme says its guidance is of particular importance when primary care registration staff use functions such as Choose and Book and GP2GP, for which the patient’s NHS Number is mandatory.
The guidance says failure to use the NHS Number increases the risk that the correct patient record will not be found and that a duplicate or confused record will be created, in which one patient’s information is added to another patient’s record.
It also says that use of the NHS Number can save on administration time and costs. The NHS Number Programme estimates a time saving of between one and ten minutes per patient for an organisation outside general practice where the NHS Number is provided.
It adds that use of the NHS Number can also help resolve common demographics issues such as patient forename and surname reversed, date of birth format written in different ways, and unclear handwriting on GMS1 forms.
The guidance says, however, that lack of an NHS Number should not prevent or delay patient treatment and that in such cases updates to a patient’s demographic details and NHS Number can be completed at a later date.
It says practices can encourage patients to carry a note of their NHS Number with them by displaying NHS Number posters and leaflets in waiting areas and reminding patients where they can find their NHS Number and why it is important to them.
The guidance adds: “Whilst the patient is not expected to know their NHS Number patients should be aware that they have a NHS Number and that it accurately identifies them as an individual and assists their care.”
The guidance follows on from the NHS Number Information Standard for General Practice published in December 2008 and the National Patient Safety Agency Safer Practice Notice in September 2009.