Concept explainer
Patient identification
Describes how Gate and Atlas identify a patient, how identifiers are matched at admission, and how staff confirm identity at the point of care.
Getting the right patient is the first safety step in any clinical act. This page describes how Gate and Atlas identify a patient, how identifiers are matched at admission, and how staff confirm identity at the point of care.
One record for one person
Gate registers a patient and opens their visit; Atlas holds the single record for that person. The record belongs to the patient, exists once across every hospital that runs Pensieve, and has no owning site. A record begins as identified where the patient's details are known, or as unidentified where a patient arrives without them, and it carries that state as care proceeds.
Once a record is identified, that identification holds. A later contact, at that site or at another hospital that runs Pensieve, reads the same record, so the history a clinician sees stays attached to one person.
Identifiers held for a patient
A patient carries several identifiers, and each answers a different need. The Pensieve patient number is the key the record is found by, and it holds across every hospital that runs Pensieve. The others name the patient inside one site, or reach outward to systems beyond the hospital.
| Identifier | What it is | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Pensieve patient number | The platform-wide number for one patient, unique across every hospital | The key the record is found and opened by |
| Hospital number | The number a site assigns the patient | Names the patient within that site, held unique there |
| National health account | The patient's ABDM health account | Links the record to national health-data exchange |
| Name and date of birth | Core demographic details | Matches a patient to an existing record at admission |
| Biological sex and gender | Held as two separate fields | Sex drives clinical dosing; gender is administrative |
Matching at admission
When a patient arrives, Gate searches the existing records before it opens a new one. Where the details match an existing patient, the clerk confirms the match and opens the visit against that record. Where they match none, the clerk registers a new record.
Where a search surfaces a possible duplicate, Gate shows it to the clerk rather than choosing silently. The clerk resolves it, either confirming the patient is the same person or registering them as distinct.
Merging two records
Where two records turn out to hold one person, a merge joins them. The earlier record becomes a pointer to the surviving record, and new entries land on the surviving one. The history from both stays readable under the single survivor.
A merge preserves both histories
A merge keeps every entry from each record and attaches them to the survivor. The pointer left behind resolves any older reference to the surviving record, so a link made before the merge still reaches the right patient.
An emergency record
A patient brought in without details still needs a record straight away. The emergency intake opens a record and its visit in one step, so the clinician reaches the canvas at once and begins recording care. The record is enriched with the patient's details as they become known, and once it is identified, that identification holds.
Confirming identity at the point of care
Before you act on a record, confirm the patient in front of you is the one it names. The record opens against one patient and one current visit, so the screen you act on is tied to a specific person.
If the details in front of you differ from the record on screen, pause and check with the front desk before you continue. The record stays attributable because each action you take is signed under your own identity.
Common questions
How does the platform avoid two records for one patient?
Gate searches existing records before it opens a new one and surfaces a possible duplicate for the clerk to resolve. Where two records are later found to hold one person, a merge joins them under a single survivor.
What happens to the old record after a merge?
The earlier record becomes a pointer to the survivor. New entries land on the surviving record, and older references resolve through the pointer, so both histories read under one patient.
Why are biological sex and gender held separately?
Biological sex drives clinical dosing and reference ranges, while gender records how the patient is addressed and administered. Holding them apart lets each field serve the purpose it belongs to.
Read how a clerk registers a patient and opens the first visit in registering a patient, and what each identifier holds in patient identifiers.