Records medical record number used by the facility to identify the patient. The CoC
FORDS manual instructs registrars to record numbers assigned by the facility’s Health Information Management (HIM) Department only, not department-specific numbers.
Rationale
This number identifies the patient in a facility. It can be used by a central registry to point back to the patient record, and it helps identify multiple reports on the same patient.
Codes (in addition to the medical record number)
UNK
Medical record number unknown
RT
Radiation therapy department patient without HIM number
SU
1-day surgery clinic patient without HIM number
Note: Other standard abbreviations may be used to indicate departments within the facility for patients without HIM numbers assigned.