Table 2 Pros and cons of the different methods for instituting a national UHI
From: Unique health identifiers for universal health coverage
Method of assigning a national unique health identifier | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
(1) UIN is used as UHI | - Can connect with other systems, beyond the health sector - Lower cost in infrastructure and human resources | - Greater potential for data breach and fraud - Not all health service users may have proof of national ID |
(2) UIN and UHI are both used and linked to each other | - Can connect with other systems, beyond the health sector - Lower risk of misuse of the national UIN | - Higher cost of maintaining infrastructure and human resources for having two identity management systems |
(3) No UIN; Only UHI is assigned | - Superior confidentiality comes with limited scope and use of the UHI | - UHI is used for health purposes only and not for other sectors |