🔍 How patient identity is checked
When a patient submits a request through Patient Triage, Accurx uses several layers of security to confirm their identity. This ensures requests are handled safely and matched to the correct medical record.
The patient provides:
Full name
Date of birth
Postcode
A contact method (phone number or email address)
These details are used to help identify the patient and, where possible, match the request to a real patient.
How is the NHS Personal Demographic Service (PDS) used?
The name, date of birth and postcode submitted by the patient are used to search the Personal Demographic Service (PDS), the NHS database of patient demographic records. If these details match a record on the PDS, this helps increase confidence that the request relates to a real patient.
How is 2-factor authentication used?
When completing the form, patients provide their contact details (phone and/or email address) and can choose whether to verify them.
This is called 2-factor authentication (2FA) and is similar to security controls put in place for online banking. 2FA shows that whoever fills in the online form has access to the same mobile phone/email address as that listed on their PDS record.
📥 How identification states appear in your Inbox
When a request arrives in your Accurx Web Inbox, it will be in one of three states based on the verification result.
1. Verified (Matched) patient
The request arrives already linked to a patient profile. This happens when:
The patient's details perfectly match a record on the PDS.
The patient successfully completed the 2FA authentication.
The team can review the request and respond as usual.
2. Patient not found (with a suggested match)
In some cases, the patient’s details match a record on the PDS, but the match cannot be automatically confirmed. This usually happens when:
2-factor authentication was not completed, or
There isn’t enough confidence to auto-confirm the match
The message will appear in your shared inbox showing 'Patient not found' and you'll see a suggested patient match. 👇
The team should review the suggested patient's name, age, DOB and NHS number to either confirm the match or change it to the correct patient.
The request can easily be unmatched via the 'Unmatch patient' button 👇
3. Patient not found (no suggested match)
Sometimes, the submitted details don’t match any patient record in the PDS. In this case:
The request appears as Patient not found
No suggested match is shown
Search for a patient to match to this conversation. To do this, search using:
The patient’s NHS number, and
Their date of birth
Once you’ve found the correct patient, confirm the match and continue responding to the request.
⚠️ Safety and Best Practices
Before confirming or changing a patient match, always consider:
The type of request submitted
Whether the details provided are sufficient to confirm identity
Any potential risk if the request is not legitimate
For some requests, it may be appropriate to take additional steps to confirm identity (for example, a follow-up message or phone call), in line with your local policy.
If you still have any questions or concerns, feel free to chat with us using the green message bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of this page. 👉