PBS Prescriber Number

Detects PBS Prescriber Number patterns. A 7-digit number with check digit validation using weights [0,5,8,4,2,1], mod 11.

Type: regex
Engine: universal
Confidence: low
Confidence justification: Low confidence: a bare 7-digit number is extremely common and will match phone numbers, postcodes, reference codes, and many other numeric sequences. Corroborative evidence keywords such as PBS, prescriber, or pharmaceutical are essential for reliable detection. Context label evidence plus explicit template/example exclusion improves precision for high-risk identifiers.
Detection quality: Verified
Jurisdictions: au
Regulations: HRIPA (Cth), IPA 2009 (Qld), My Health Records Act 2012 (Cth), NDB Scheme (Cth), Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
Frameworks: ISO 27001, ISO 27701, SOC 2
Data categories: pii, government-id
Scope: wide
Risk rating: 8
Platform compatibility: Purview: Compatible, GCP DLP: Compatible, Macie: Compatible, Zscaler: Compatible, Palo Alto: Compatible, Netskope: Compatible

Pattern

\b\d{7}\b

Corroborative evidence keywords

prescriber, PBS, Pharmaceutical Benefits, IHI, Individual Healthcare Identifier, healthcare identifier, HPI, HPI-I, HPI-O, provider identifier, AHPRA, registration number, prescriber number, PBS prescriber, pharmaceutical benefits, Medicare provider, provider number, medication, drug name, drug strength (+6 more)

Proximity: 300 characters

Should match

1234567 — Standard 7-digit prescriber number
0000001 — Low-range prescriber number
9876543 — High-range prescriber number

Should not match

123456 — Only 6 digits instead of 7
12345678 — 8 digits instead of 7
123456A — Contains a letter instead of all digits
sample template placeholder number 123456789 — Template/sample context should be excluded even when numeric-like values appear

Known false positives

Common words and phrases related to pbs prescriber number appearing in policy documents, training materials, HR templates, or compliance guidelines without actual personal data. Mitigation: Require corroborative evidence keywords within the proximity window to confirm sensitive data context rather than general discussion.
In Australian English, similar terminology used in formal or administrative contexts (education, professional documentation) that does not constitute sensitive data collection. Mitigation: Layer with additional contextual signals such as structured identifiers, form fields, or database column headers to distinguish sensitive records from general references.