Australia National Pathology Standards (First Edition 2027) 7.02: Patient identification and service matching: define and approve at least three patient identifiers for the record and primary specimen label, include national health identifiers when available, match the patient to specimen and service, have patients confirm label accuracy where able, label the primary specimen and report with the approved identifiers, link primary and secondary samples, handle anonymous patients and merge duplicate records, use approved identifiers at collection, electronic request, testing, interpretation and reporting, correct discrepancies promptly and document them in the healthcare record and incident system

What does 7.02 require?

Patient identity is made unambiguous and traceable. At least three identifiers are approved for the record and the primary specimen label, with national health identifiers added when available; patient, specimen and service are matched; where able, the patient checks the label; the approved identifiers appear on the primary specimen and the report; secondary samples are linked back to the primary specimen; there are rules for patients who stay anonymous and for merging one patient's records held under different identifiers; identity is re-confirmed with the approved identifiers at collection, on electronic transmission of requests, and during testing, interpretation and reporting; mismatches are corrected at once; and every identification discrepancy and its correction is written into the patient's record and the incident system.