Notes:
EPISODE NUMBER is the same as attribute ACTIVITY IDENTIFIER.

EPISODE NUMBER is used to uniquely identify episodes, and is a sequence number for each Consultant Episode (Hospital Provider) in a Hospital Provider Spell.

The first episode of each new Hospital Provider Spell (including re-admitted PATIENTS) commences at 1.

A known EPISODE NUMBER can be between 1 to 87.

For other Health Care Provider episodes, it is a sequence number for a CONSULTANT/PATIENT combination; or it is a sequence number for each Sexual Health and HIV Episode.

EPISODE NUMBER is used by the Secondary Uses Service to derive the Healthcare Resource Group 4. Failure to correctly populate this data element is likely to result in an incorrect Healthcare Resource Group, usually associated with lower levels of healthcare resource.

For further information, please refer to the NHS England website at: Payment by Results Guidance.

Notes:

• The Default Code description for 99 - Not known has been updated. The Data Set specifications that contain this item will be updated in the next version of the Information Standard where it is not already correct.
• Format/Length has been updated in Data Dictionary Change Notice 1808 "Correction of Format/Length Data Elements". The Data Set specifications that contain this item will be updated in the next version of the Information Standard where it is not already correct.
  

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	EPISODE NUMBERS