National Health Index (NHI)
Your NHI number is unique to you. It is used whenever you use a health or disability service so your healthcare provider knows who you are and can give you the right care. This number is linked to your personal details and medical records. Health NZ keeps this information safe in the National Health Index database.
Who has an NHI number
If you were born in New Zealand in recent decades, it is likely you were given an NHI number at birth.
If you were not born in New Zealand or do not have an NHI number, you will be given one when you use health or disability services for the first time.
You do not need to apply separately or pay to get an NHI number.
Information held in your NHI record
Your NHI record holds a small amount of personal information such as:
- your name (including other names you use, such as a previous surname)
- your NHI number
- your address
- your date of birth
- your gender
- your New Zealand residency and citizenship status (if this was collected as part of a service)
- your place of birth
- your ethnic group
- your date of death, if this applies.
You will need to tell your healthcare provider if you have previously used a different name when using a health service. This stops them from creating a new NHI number for you by mistake.
Clinical information is not recorded on the NHI
Details about diagnoses, test results and medicines stay in the clinical systems used by your healthcare providers. The NHI number is used to link those systems to you.
How the NHI number is used
Healthcare providers such as public and private hospitals, general practices, pharmacies, laboratories and midwives use your NHI number.
They may use the NHI number to:
- find past and current information held in hospital systems
- manage planned future events, such as elective surgery bookings
- check important information from the Medical Warning System (MWS)
- view immunisation information in the National Immunisation Register
- manage your enrolment and provider choices in the National Enrolment Service.
Health NZ uses a coded or encrypted form of the NHI number in national statistical databases. These databases are used to:
- produce statistics and reports
- meet international reporting duties
- help design health policy
- support research
- plan and monitor health and disability services.
Using a coded or encrypted number means the data can be linked for planning and research, while protecting your identity.
Benefits of the NHI for your care
For you to get the best care, healthcare providers need accurate and complete information about you.
Having an NHI number:
- helps health workers make sure they are caring for the right person
- reduces the risk of mixing up people with similar or changing names
- makes it easier to link information from different services
supports better coordinated care across hospitals, general practices and other providers.
Your NHI number is not connected in any way to debt collection agencies.
Manage your NHI details
You may see your NHI number written on:
- a prescription or prescription receipt
- a prescription medicine label
- letters from a hospital or clinic
- x-ray or test result reports
- your profile in an online patient portal from your general practice.
If you cannot find your NHI number, your healthcare provider can look it up for you at your next appointment.
You can write to us to get the information held on you in the NHI. This can take up to 20 working days.
We will need your:
- full name (and any aliases known by)
- date of birth
- street address
- postal address (if different)
- past addresses (as many as you are able to provide)
- phone number (for validation purposes).
Email or write to us at:
Privacy Request
National Contact Centre
Ministry of Health
PO Box 3015
Whanganui 4501
Email: information@health.govt.nz
We do not hold clinical health information or notes recorded by your healthcare providers, or information relating to ACC. You will need to contact your healthcare provider or ACC for this information.
You can change your details on the NHI if they are wrong or out of date.
Talk to your usual healthcare provider if you need to update:
- your name
- your address
- your gender
- your ethnicity
- other details on your NHI record.
Keeping your details up to date helps services:
- contact you about appointments and screening
- keep your records accurate and complete.
Access privacy and security
Only health agencies involved in providing health and disability services can access the NHI.
Access is controlled by:
These laws set rules about who can see your information and how it can be used.
Access to NHI information is logged. Audits can be done to check that people are only looking at NHI records for legitimate reasons.
Only some organisations can change information on the NHI or create new NHI records. These include:
- local or regional services within Health New Zealand
- general practices
- Health NZ.
Other agencies may be able to:
- search for an NHI number
- view limited information but not make changes.
The Privacy Act 2020 protects your personal information and gives you rights to:
- access your information
- ask for it to be corrected.
Using an NHI number instead of your name and address can help protect your privacy. The number on its own tells people less about you than your full contact details.
The NHI system has several layers of security. All messages to and from the NHI are protected, and the database is held in a secure environment. There are backup and disaster recovery processes to help keep your information safe and complete.
Health NZ works to keep NHI records accurate and to avoid duplicate NHI numbers for the same person.
Special software helps find and flag possible duplicate records. Trained staff then review and link these records where needed.
Work to reduce duplicates includes:
- finding and linking existing duplicate NHI numbers
- improving the quality of information used to identify people
- training staff to search carefully before creating new records
- monitoring services that may be creating new duplicates
- continually improving the NHI search tools.
Reducing duplicates helps:
- keep your information together in one record
- support safer care and better decisions.