Practitioner Services - Enabling Primary Care

Medical Cards

What is a Medical Card?

All patients that are registered with a GP Practice should hold a current Medical Card. 

The Medical Card contains the following:

  • Your name, address and date of birth
  • The name and address of your GP Practice
  • Your Community Health Index (CHI) number
  • Your unique NHS number

Why do I require a Medical Card?

Medical Cards help your new GP Practice in transferring your medical records from your previous GP Practice.

What can I use my Medical Card for?

You can only use your Medical Card for when you register with a new GP Practice. It cannot be used as a form of Identification.

How do I obtain a Medical Card?

Contact the Practitioner Services (Medical) office for the NHS Board area that you live in. We have listed these in the Medical Contact Details section.

Community Health Index (CHI)
The CHI is a computerised database of patients within the NHS in Scotland.

It holds your name, address including postcode, date of birth, gender and details of your registered GP Practice including the date you joined the GP Practice. 

It also holds some historical data including your previous GP Practice. 

Each patient on the CHI has a unique 10 digit CHI number.  This number is used for communications within the NHS in Scotland and also to track your medical records.