Standard Protocols for Verification of Patients' Identities for Hospital Admission

Ms Hazel Poa asked 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.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: Public hospitals typically verify patients’ identities by checking against a photo identification document, for example, their physical National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) or in Singpass.

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.

Later, when the patients are able to produce their photo identification, for example, their family members bring their NRICs to the hospital, their records will be updated in the public hospitals’ systems.