Full Medicare number for an individual (i.e. family number plus person (individual reference) number).
Comments:
The Medicare card number is printed on a Medicare card and is used to access Medicare records for an eligible person.
Up to 9 persons can be included under the one Medicare card number with up to five persons appearing on one physical card.
Persons grouped under one Medicare card number are often a family, however, there is no requirement for persons under the same Medicare card number to be related.
A person may be shown under separate Medicare card numbers where, for example, a child needs to be included on separate Medicare cards held by their parents. As a person can be identified on more than one Medicare card this is not a unique identifier for a person.
Data element attributes
Collection and usage attributes
Guide for use:
The Medicare card number should only be collected from persons eligible to receive health services that are to be funded by the Commonwealth government. The number should be reported to the appropriate government agency to reconcile payment for the service provided. The data should not be used by private sector organisations for any other purpose unless specifically authorised by law. For example, data linkage should not be carried out unless specifically authorised by law.
Comments:
Note: Veterans may have a Medicare card number and a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) number or only a DVA number.
