Registration authorities and smartcards

A registration authority is a function, usually within a NHS organisation, that carries out the identity checks of prospective smartcard users and assigns an appropriate access profile to the health professional's role as approved by the employing organisation.

Smartcards are required to access NHS Spine information systems and registration authorities roles and responsibilities are defined by NHS policy.

The Care Identity Service is an electronic system for registering and issuing smartcards. Registration authorities use the Care Identity Service to control NHS smartcard access for the NHS Spine's 800,000+ smartcard users. It’s a unified application that provides a single location for all registration authority activities.

NHS smartcards are similar to chip and PIN bank cards and enable healthcare professionals to access clinical and personal information appropriate to their role.

A smartcard used in conjunction with a passcode, known only to the smartcard holder, gives secure and auditable access to national and local Spine enabled health record systems.

Registration authority support teams with an account on the Oberthur portal can order a supply of smartcards, and readers can be ordered directly from NHS Digital. Individual card users should contact their local registration authority teams. Contact details for primary care service provider organisations can be found here.

The NHS Care Record Guarantee for England sets out the rules that govern how patient information is used in the NHS and what controls patients can have over this. It covers:
 

• people's access to their own records
• controls on others' access (such as carers)
• how access will be monitored and policed
• options people have to further limit access
• access in an emergency
• what happens when someone cannot make decisions for themselves

Everyone who works for the NHS or for organisations delivering services under contract to the NHS has to comply with this guarantee. It was first published in 2005 and is subject to regular review, ensuring it remains clear and continues to reflect the law and best practice.

Spine 
Registration authority software downloads page 
Service provider contact details
Smartcard printers
Download our national Role Based Access Code (RBAC) table.

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