This field is present on A&E and APC linked records only. Linkage between these two datasets enables patient pathways to be followed and provides additional information beyond what is available from the standalone datasets. AEKEY represents the record identifier of the A&E attendance that the APC episode has been linked to. Full details of the methodology used to link A&E and APC records can be found on the following page of our website: http://content.digital.nhs.uk/article/1824/How-do- we-collect-and-process-HES-data|This is a record identifier that is created by the HES system. The digits store a decimal number. This is commonly eight or nine digits but can be up to 14.

aekey