Verify that the patient details you hold (name, date of birth, sex, Medicare card number and IRN) match
Medicare's records. RebateRight runs its own field-format checks first, then calls Medicare's **Patient
Verification Check** service.
When Medicare accepts the check but some details differ, the corrected value is echoed on the matching
**`Correct…`** field so you can propose an update to the patient's record.
Every `Reason` string is prefixed with **`[Medicare]`** (passthrough from Medicare) or **`[RebateRight]`**
(RebateRight-side validation) so each sentence can be attributed to its source.
## đź“‘ How Medicare handles individual fields
| Field | Behaviour when only this field is wrong | Behaviour when another field is also wrong |
|---|---|---|
| **Medicare Card Number** | Fails. No correction provided. | Fails. No correction provided. |
| **Date of Birth** | Accepted with a prompt to confirm DOB. No correction provided. | Fails. No correction provided. |
| **Medicare Reference Number (IRN)** | Accepted with the correct IRN in `CorrectMedicareReferenceNumber`. | Fails. No correction provided. |
| **Given Name** | First 5 characters must match (so `ELIZA` vs `ELIZABETH` passes). If only the given name differs, the correct value is returned in `CorrectGivenName`. | Fails. No correction provided. |
| **Family Name / Sex** | Ignored — verification still passes with no correction reported. | Does not by itself cause failure. |
| **New Medicare card issued** | `Verified: false`; Medicare supplies `CorrectMedicareNumber`, `CorrectMedicareReferenceNumber`, and `CorrectGivenName` so you can update the patient's record. | |
## 👤 Patients with a single name
For single-name patients, submit the single name as **`PatientFamilyName`** and set **`PatientGivenName`** to
the literal string **`ONLYNAME`**.
Authentication
x-api-keystring
API Key authentication via header
x-minor-idstring
API Key authentication via header
Request
This endpoint expects an object.
PatientDateOfBirthdateRequired
Patient date of birth (YYYY-MM-DD). Cannot be a future date or more than 130 years in the past.
PatientFamilyNamestringRequired
Patient family name as it appears on the Medicare card. For single-name patients, put the single name here.
PatientGivenNamestringRequired
Patient first given name as it appears on the Medicare card. Medicare matches on the first 5 characters, so ELIZA is accepted against a record of ELIZABETH. For single-name patients, set this to the literal string ONLYNAME.
PatientSexenumRequired
Patient sex (Services Australia coding). Medicare does not fail verification on a sex mismatch
alone and does not report a correction for this field.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `1` | Male |
| `2` | Female |
| `3` | Other |
| `9` | Not stated / inadequately described |
Allowed values:
PatientMedicareNumberstringRequired
Patient’s 10-digit Medicare card number. Must pass the Medicare card check-digit routine — RebateRight validates this before calling Medicare.
PatientMedicareRefNumberstringRequired
Individual Reference Number (IRN) from the patient’s Medicare card — a single digit identifying the family member.
Response
OK
Verifiedboolean or null
Tri-state verification outcome. true means Medicare confirms an exact match, false means Medicare accepted the check with corrections or returned a mismatch, and a null value means the check did not run (the request failed RebateRight-side validation). Always check Reason for the full explanation.
Reasonstring
Human-readable explanation of the outcome, prefixed with [Medicare] (passthrough from Medicare) or [RebateRight] (RebateRight-side validation).
CorrectSexstring or null
Always null — Medicare does not report corrections to sex.
CorrectGivenNamestring or null
Corrected given name when Medicare’s records differ and the given name is the only field wrong; null otherwise.
CorrectFamilyNamestring or null
Always null — Medicare does not report corrections to family name.
CorrectDateOfBirthstring or null
Always null — Medicare signals a DOB mismatch in Reason but does not return the correct value.
CorrectMedicareNumberstring or null
Corrected 10-digit Medicare card number when Medicare has re-issued the card; null otherwise.
CorrectMedicareReferenceNumberstring or null
Corrected IRN when the IRN was the only field wrong, or when a new Medicare card has been issued; null otherwise.
Verify that the patient details you hold (name, date of birth, sex, Medicare card number and IRN) match
Medicare’s records. RebateRight runs its own field-format checks first, then calls Medicare’s Patient
Verification Check service.
When Medicare accepts the check but some details differ, the corrected value is echoed on the matching
Correct… field so you can propose an update to the patient’s record.
Every Reason string is prefixed with [Medicare] (passthrough from Medicare) or [RebateRight]
(RebateRight-side validation) so each sentence can be attributed to its source.
đź“‘ How Medicare handles individual fields
Field
Behaviour when only this field is wrong
Behaviour when another field is also wrong
Medicare Card Number
Fails. No correction provided.
Fails. No correction provided.
Date of Birth
Accepted with a prompt to confirm DOB. No correction provided.
Fails. No correction provided.
Medicare Reference Number (IRN)
Accepted with the correct IRN in CorrectMedicareReferenceNumber.
Fails. No correction provided.
Given Name
First 5 characters must match (so ELIZA vs ELIZABETH passes). If only the given name differs, the correct value is returned in CorrectGivenName.
Fails. No correction provided.
Family Name / Sex
Ignored — verification still passes with no correction reported.
Does not by itself cause failure.
New Medicare card issued
Verified: false; Medicare supplies CorrectMedicareNumber, CorrectMedicareReferenceNumber, and CorrectGivenName so you can update the patient’s record.
👤 Patients with a single name
For single-name patients, submit the single name as PatientFamilyName and set PatientGivenName to
the literal string ONLYNAME.
Patient sex (Services Australia coding). Medicare does not fail verification on a sex mismatch
alone and does not report a correction for this field.
