ISO/TS 22220:2009 indicates the data elements and structure suited to accurate and procedurally appropriate and sensitive identification of individuals in health care in a face-to-face setting supported by computer technology, or through interactions between computer systems. It provides guidelines for improving the positive identification of subjects of care within and between health care organizations.

ISO/TS 22220:2009 defines demographic and other identifying data elements suited to capture, and the wide variety of manual and computer-enhanced procedures used for subject of care identification in health care settings. It also provides guidance on their application in the manual and the computer environment and makes recommendations about the nature and form of health care identifiers, the management organization to oversee subject of care identification, and computer support to be provided for the identification process.

The objective of ISO/TS 22220:2009 is to promote uniform good practice in:

• identifying individuals in a face-to-face or paper-based environment, as well as in and between automated systems;
• recording and reporting of subject of care identifying data;
• ensuring that data being associated with any given subject of care, and upon which clinical communication and data aggregation are based, are appropriately associated with that individual or organization and no other.

ISO/TS 22220:2009 is primarily concerned with the use of subject of care identification data to support patient care. It should be used by health and health related establishments that create, use or maintain records on subjects of care. Health care organizations should use this Technical Specification where appropriate, for collecting data when registering subjects of care or potential subjects of care and when reporting patient information to other systems, both clinical and administrative.