Registration Authority (Smartcards)
NHS Informatics Merseyside delivers a Registration Authority (RA) service which registers and verifies the identity of NHS health and care professionals who need to access the information held on NHS Spine information systems.
Access to these systems is controlled through NHS Smartcards which enables healthcare professionals to access clinical and personal information appropriate to their role. The registration and management of smartcards and access is managed through an electronic system called the care identity system (CIS).
NHS Informatics Merseyside’s RA service currently provides Smartcard support to over 25,000 users and manages circa 15,500 RA position based access control (PBAC) requests per annum.
Service features
- Highly skilled and knowledgeable team of RA experts with many years collective experience and qualified in national RA policy.
- Smartcard Identity checks for NHS health workers and pharmacies across Liverpool, Sefton and Southport in line with national e-GIF Level 3 standard.
- Smartcard user registration and access rights assignment via the CIS system as approved by the Smartcard Sponsor.
- RA management service to authorise RA Agents and Sponsor roles.
- Smartcard advice and training – ensuring users, Agents, Sponsors and Local Smartcard Administrators are aware of their roles and responsibilities, along with the promotion of best practice Smartcard security and management.
- Smartcard renewals and access changes.
- Smartcard troubleshooting and support such as a lost, stolen or damaged card.
- RA incident management via Caldicott Guardian/Information Governance and other relevant Security Groups.
- Local RA policy and process development and implementation including compliance management.
Service standards
- Service achieved Significant Assurance following audit conducted in 2020 by Mersey Internal Audit Agency (MIAA).
- Trained experts in national RA policy.
- Operate in accordance with national RA policy and data protection and security best practice standards.
- Commitment to service quality, improvement and innovation.
Services
Requesting a Smartcard
Sponsors are identified to support the application process by specifying the level of access an individual should have. Sponsors are likely to be operational heads, managers or administrators within a practice, clinic, ward or department.
When a request for a Smartcard has been made through our IT service desk, the Registration Authority will coordinate the registration process, which involves:
- Identification check
- Issuing Smartcards
All personal data held by the Registration Authority is managed in accordance with the Data Protection Act and kept in line with national eGif Level 3 Standards.
Renewals and problems with your Smartcard
For Information Governance (IG) purposes, Smartcards will expire after two years if not renewed.
When the renewal date approaches, IT users will be prompted to renew at each login. Failure to renew your Smartcard will result in it expiring and access to Smartcard enabled systems being lost.
To renew your Smartcard or for non-urgent help and advice, please contact your RA Sponsor or Local Smartcard Administrator (LSA) who is likely to be a team leader, manager or administrator.
Services provided by your local Smartcard Sponsor include:
- Passcode resets.
- Assisted Smartcard renewal.
- Managing Smartcard requests including new Smartcards or access changes.
- Smartcard advice and support.
For more urgent Smartcard queries, such as a lost or damaged card, please contact Informatics Merseyside’s IT service desk immediately. Bookings for Smartcard registration sessions are also managed through the IT service desk.
Useful links
Smartcard hints and tips card
New Pharmacy Sponsorship Model
Meet the Team
Smartcard self-service / unlock (requires Internet Explorer)
CIS Upgrade
Need further information?
For further information about our Registration Authority (RA) service, please get in touch and a member of our team will be happy to help. All lost, stolen or damaged Smartcards should be reported to the IT service desk, Registration Authority and your Sponsor.