Python allows you to use + and * with strings. When used with strings, + joins two strings together:

patientname = "John Doe"
patientid = "42113"
info = patientname + " " + patientid
# info now contains "John Doe 42113"

The * operation specifies multiple copies of a string. For example:

patientid = "4" + "2" + 2 * "1" + "3"
# patientid now contains "42113"

As with numbers, * is always performed before +, unless parentheses are used to specify the order.