FAQ

1. Who can apply for an OID?

OID for organisations can be applied for by all organisations within the German Health Care System. You can apply for a generally valid OID, e.g. for tables, if you already have an organisation OID registered with DIMDI. Generally, the organisation responsible for the OID should register the OID (e.g. DIMDI: ICD-10-GM 2009). If responsibilities are not clearly allocated, the registration centre will decide.

2. May OID queries only be made by authorised persons within the organisation?

Yes. Should contact persons or the applying persons change, this must be reported immediately.

3. Who may change existing OID information, e.g. table values or contact information?

Only those persons mentioned in the application may change existing OID information. Please only use the electronic application and modification form OID.

4. What possible independent allocation can an organisation make, if it possesses an organisation OID?

Beneath an organisation OID the organisation has the possibility of allocating new object identifiers within the scope of ISO, CEN, DIN and HL7 specifications. However, should the registered OID become generally valid, they must be reported to DIMDI. Please only use the electronic application and modification form OID.

5. How is an OID applied for?

The electronic "Input form for an OID registration" must be completed according to specifications. If information is incomplete, the application will be returned to you. It is also possible that DIMDI refuses the allocation of an OID and will supply you with a reason. Please ensure that

• the object does not yet possess an OID.
• the form is completed in full.
• the description is in the English language in order to ensure interoperability with other OID registers.
• the name is as distinct as possible.
• a character chain of not more than 15 characters without spaces and special characters is selected as object identification.

The applied OID is generally allocated and published promptly.

6. Does the OID represent a classification?

The OID structure does not represent a hierarchy or classification to third parties. It characterises the exclusive reference to a description.

7. Can only DIMDI allocate OID for the German Health Care System?

In the OID system, the OID beneath the branch "Organisations" are independently allocated by the organisations while maintaining individuality. OID are also allocated by various other institutions, for example DIN and Teletrust.

8. On which standards and specifications are OID based?

The allocation of new OID is conducted according to certain rules based on DIN 66334:1996-9 "Communication of Open Systems: Registration procedure of information objects" and ITU-T Rec. X.660 ISO/IEC 9834/1.

9. May an OID be deleted?

Once allocated, an OID is never cancelled and remains a valid description of the same object. However, it is possible to mark an OID as "no longer in use".

10. Who checks the adherence to rules during allocation?

The centre which allocates and is responsible for the singularity of the OID checks the contents of the OID applications and, if required, recommends an already existing OID to be used as an alternative.

11. When should an OID be reported to DIMDI?

An organisation should not allocate an OID for objects which can also be used outside the organisation. These must be registered via the OID registration centre for the German Health Care System. If the OIDs are intended for use outside the applying organisation in the German Health Care System, this must be reported using the electronic application and modification form.

12. Where can I search for already allocated OIDs?

A search can be conducted via the website of DIMDI. Furthermore, HL7 International (OID Registry) and France Telecom (OID Repository) provide OID registers.

13. What happens if more than one OID is allocated to an object?

In this case the intended OID should be marked as "Preferred OID".