Organizations which maintain databases of physician information use a variety of physician identifiers, including registration numbers, billing numbers, member numbers and other unique numbers. Because none of these is used on an inter-provincial or national basis, it is difficult to
- Confirm that an individual seeking registration in one province is the same person who was disciplined in another province or territory
- Determine the number of physicians with active licenses in more than one province or territory
- Track where physicians enter practice after completing their training
- Identify to regulatory authorities when individuals receive their degrees, licensure, certification or other credentials
The MINC system was developed to provide a reliable, verifiable identifier for all Canadian physicians, and to allow Prime Users and Licensed Users to link their databases (or selected parts) for approved regulatory, administrative, physician supply planning, and research purposes. It provides a “common currency” for identification.