Patient Demographics

Record a patient's demographics in their patient record.

Permissions:
  • Create Patient
  • Update Patient
  • View Patient
Table 1. Patient Details
Fields Descriptions
Patient ID The patient identification number is assigned automatically by Helix when a new patient record is saved.
Patient status New patients have a status of Active by default. For more information, see Patient Status.
Title If required, select a title from the list. The patient's nominated sex at birth may be changed to suit the title.
Sex at birth Select the patient's sex at birth from the list:
  • Male
  • Female
  • Not Specified by patient
  • Other
Surname Enter the patient's family name.

If the patient refers themselves by a single name, enter this name into both the Surname and First name fields.

No special characters are supported except hyphens and apostrophes.
First name Enter the patient's given name.

If the patient refers themselves by a single name, enter this name into both the Surname and First name fields.

No special characters are supported except hyphens and apostrophes.
Middle names If required, enter a patient's middle names.
Preferred name The preferred name is displayed in parentheses next to the patient’s name in their record.
Date of birth Enter the patients date of birth in the format DD/MM/YYYY.

The patient's age is determined automatically.
Regular Centre Set a patient's usual healthcare centre.
If a patient has registered your practice as their primary healthcare practice with MyMedicare, set Patient registered with this practice for MyMedicare for the selected centre:
  • Incentive items for patients enrolled in MyMedicare and general support service bulk billing items are automatically added for the eligible patients in billing visits.
  • Valid Medicare or DVA card must be included in patient details. For more information about eligibility criteria, see Services Australia.
  • Bulk billing incentives can be claimed when you bulk bill a child under 16 years of age or a Commonwealth Concession Card holder.
Tip: If you select None for a patient's regular centre, you cannot set Patient registered with this practice for MyMedicare for the patient.
Home address Provide at least a home address, including country, address, suburb, state, postcode.
To add a postal address, click Add IconAdd and complete these details in the additional address fields.
Add Postal address icon
Contact numbers
  • Area codes for land-lines are added automatically, based on the State in the Address field.
  • If adding an emergency contact, you must include the contact's name, and their relationship to the patient.
  • To add a additional Contact number, Emergency number, and Next of kin number, click Add IconAdd.
Email Enter at least one and up to two valid email addresses.
Example email fields in Patient Demographics
Email addresses can be used for communication from the practice and to receive ePrescription tokens.
Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) Helix performs an Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI) search when the patient record is saved,, provided you have entered their Services Australia number or DVA number, name, date of birth, gender, and address.
  • If an IHI number is found, it is displayed in the header.
  • If no IHI is found, No IHI available is displayed and the statuses are blank.

IHI number - verified
For more information, see IHI.
Medicare If the patient has a Medicare card, enter a their number, IRN, and card expiry date. The card is automatically validated with Services Australia.

If the patient does not have a Medicare card, click Medicare iconMedicare and select Not Provided. For more information, see Online Patient Verification.
Concession Card If the patient has a concession card, click Concession card iconConcession Card and select any of the following options from the list:
  • HCC
  • PCC
  • SCC
  • Not provided
Enter the concession card number and expiry date.
DVA If the patient has a DVA card, click DVA and select any of the following options from the list:
  • N/A
  • DVA all
  • DVA specific

Also enter a file number and expiry date.

If a DVA card is entered, no Medicare details are shown.

For more information, see Online Patient Verification.
ATSI Enter the indigenous status of the patient. Select from:
  • Aboriginal
  • Torres Strait Islander
  • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander
  • Neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander
  • Not Stated/Inadequately Described
Closing the gap If this patient is eligible for PBS CTG assistance, set Registered for Closing the gap (CTG).
Closing the gap Panel

Practices participating in the PBS co-payment must first register by completing the PIP Indigenous Health Incentive form. For more information, contact Department of Health and Ageing.

Both the practice and patient must be registered before generating CTG scripts in Helix.

To learn more about the Closing the Gap Incentive and registration process, see Close the Gap Incentive.
Carer Details If the patient has a carer, enter their details.
Payer Details If the patient is not the payer of this account, deselect Patient Is Payer and enter the details for the payer.