title: AKA unknown male Foxtrot 23/4: alias assignment for unidentified emergency room patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To introduce a unique system of alias assignment for patients whose identity is initially unknown at time of admission to the emergency unit; to prevent confusion and cases of mistaken identity.
  
  
  METHODS
  At the triage area the "unknown" patient is given a "forename" using the phonetic alphabet according to the stage of the current name cycle. The sex of the patient is included as well as the unknown status and a "surname" is added as the numerical date. Thus an unknown male patient admitted on the 24th of April at the start of a new name cycle would be known as "unknown male Alpha 24/4".
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten thousand alias assignments have been issued to patients since the introduction of the system in 1985.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This system is a simple yet effective, tried and tested method for the unique identification of unknown patients, which allows easy communication and retrieval of data for inquiries.
authors.affiliation: Johannesburg Hospital, Department of Surgery, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macnab
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boffard
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010355:Patient Identification Systems; D013019:South Africa; D014218:Triage