---
id: "coronavirus-smarter-crowdsourcing:strategies/Implement-a-UHI/NPI-system.-Governments-should-rol"
type: "GovLab policy strategy"
title: "Implement a UHI/NPI system."
url: "https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/strategies/implement-a-uhi/npi-system.-governments-should-rol"
summary: "Implement a UHI/NPI system. Governments should roll out a comprehensive and single UHI/NPI system that integrates,delivers,and manages health information technology systems across all health care institutions,including the ability for individuals to access and control their own health records."
source: "The GovLab (coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org)"
licence: "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Implement a UHI/NPI system.

Implement a UHI/NPI system. Governments should roll out a comprehensive and single UHI/NPI system that integrates,delivers,and manages health information technology systems across all health care institutions,including the ability for individuals to access and control their own health records.

- Timeframe: 1+ years (structural change)
- Audience: Private Sector, Academia, Civil Society, Healthcare Providers, Government Workers, Nonprofits
- Type: Policy/Legislative/Regulatory, Partnerships
- Recommendation: [National Patient Identifiers](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/national-patient-identifiers)
- Part of: [Smarter Crowdsourcing in the Age of Coronavirus](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/)

## Actions governments should take

1. Actions listed above are all essential preconditions for this recommendation to be accomplished

## Examples from around the world

1. Estonia has one of the most [highly-developed national ID-card systems](https://e-estonia.com/solutions/e-identity/id-card/) in the world, Every citizen in Estonia has an online e-health record that can be tracked, and linked to a person’s electronic ID-card. The health records are secured with KSI Blockchain technology and are used to ensure data integrity. The information is only accessible to authorized health personnel. 99% of health data, prescription information and electronic billing in healthcare are digitized. The [Electronic Health Record](https://e-estonia.com/solutions/healthcare/) is a nationwide system that integrates data from diverse healthcare providers into a common record accessible to patients and doctors as a single electronic file. The system functions as a centralized, national database that retrieves data from various providers with different systems and presents the information into a standard format via the e-patient portal.