STANDARD PROTOCOLS FOR VERIFICATION OF PATIENTS’ IDENTITIES FOR HOSPITAL ADMISSION

NOTICE PAPER NO. 3486

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 27 FEBRUARY 2025

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Hazel Poa

Non-Constituency MP

Question No. 6612

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there is a standard protocol for verifying patients’ identities when they are admitted to hospitals without any form of identification such as an NRIC; and (b) if so, what is the standard.

Answer

Public hospitals typically verify patients’ identities by checking against a photo identification document (e.g. their physical National Registration Identity Cards (NRICs) or in Singpass).

2        In medical emergencies (such as when patients are brought into the emergency department unconscious), the patients will be temporarily registered using a system-generated unique identifier number. This is necessary to ensure that medical care can be immediately provided, as any delay may harm the patients.

3        Later, when the patients are able to produce their photo identification (e.g. their family members bring their NRICs to the hospital), their records will be updated in the public hospitals’ systems.