The National Healthcare Security Administration ("NHSA") has recently issued the Coding Rules and Methods for Ten Healthcare Security Information Business Including Designated Medical Institutions (the "Coding Rules and Methods").
The Coding Rules and Methods provide that the code of a designated medical institution is a 12-bit one made up of three parts, including the English capital letter and strings of Arabic numerals that are arranged in a certain sequence. The first part is the identification code for a designated medical institution, while the second part indicates the code of the administrative region and the third part suggests the sequential number of a designated medical institution. Meanwhile, the Coding Rules and Methods expressly state that the 13-bit code of a physician for healthcare security purpose also consists of three parts, including the English capital letter and strings of Arabic numerals that are arranged in a certain sequence. The first part of the 13-bit code presents the identification code for a physician for healthcare security purpose, while the second and third parts show the code of the administrative region and the sequential number of a physician respectively. According to a source from the NHSA, the coding standards for 15 healthcare security information business have been all completed, and the "unified coding mechanism" is expected to be put into operation within the healthcare security system nationwide and in all business processes, by the year 2020.