Supporting multiple patient domains in IMPAX using GPI

In a cross-enterprise configuration, multiple patient identification domains may exist. That is, a patient admitted at one facility may be known by a different patient ID at another facility, because each facility uses different admitting systems that each generate their own patient IDs.

To support searching for patients across multiple facilities, IMPAX MVF and IMPAX Data Center (IDC) include support for Global Patient Identifiers, or GPIs. The GPI is an identifier in addition to the local patient ID.

Global patient IDs are valid search criteria to use when searching for studies from the IMPAX Administration Tools. They can also be used when searching for studies from the IMPAX Client.

Source of GPI values

The GPI is not generated by IMPAX MVF or by IMPAX Data Center; it is supplied by an external system. This external system can be an Enterprise Master Patient Index or EMPI system whose sole job it is to identify and link patient records, or it can be as simple as an identifying number provided through RIS integration.

Whatever mechanism is used, Connectivity Manager must be correctly configured to support it.

Differences between IMPAX MVF and IDC

IMPAX MVF and IDC manage GPI data differently. In IMPAX MVF, GPI is a single value, stored as a private tag in the object header. There is no issuer for GPI. IMPAX MVF uses the private tag to distinguish between the local MRN and the GPI value.

IDC, by contrast, does not distinguish between local and GPI values. All patient IDs—local, GPI, or other—are handled the same way. So issuer values are associated with each patient ID in the IMPAX Data Center system, for activities where the source of the patient ID matters.

When IMPAX MVF sends a study with GPI to IDC, IDC extracts the private tag as the patient ID for that study, and also assigns an issuer to that value. (The default issuer value is _GPI, but this can be changed if needed, as when using an external PIX Manager.)

IDC uses the issuer to identify that this patient ID is the GPI so that it can convert it back to the private tag before sending any studies back to IMPAX spokes.