Hospitals identify patients in a variety of ways. The most common method is through the use of medical records. Hospitals will usually have a central database that contains the medical records of all patients. This database can be searched by various criteria, such as name, date of birth, social security number, and so on. In addition to medical records, hospitals may also use other methods to identify patients. For example, they may use patient wristbands that contain identifying information.
This is the procedure for accurately matching a patient to appropriate interventions and ensuring that information about the patient’s identity is communicated correctly and reliably throughout the continuum of care. The current method of patient identification cannot guarantee a 100% match rate. Errors in patient identification can have a significant impact on patient care, safety, payment, and interoperability. Because of the difficulty of identifying patients, clinical decisions may be influenced, treatment may be delayed, patient outcomes may be compromised, and testing costs may rise. When two patients’ records are incorrectly matched, patient care and safety are jeopardized. The purpose of this paper is to examine current patient identification techniques, as well as the difficulties and challenges associated with unresolved patient identification. Quality health information is increasingly difficult to obtain as new data streams are used and as organizations share records electronically.
Various approaches, techniques, and solutions to patient identification, including UPIs and algorithms, can be used. In Singapore, there was insufficient usage of the National Registration Identity Card (NIIC) as a patient ID. There are currently long-standing policy barriers in the United States that prevent the use of a unique patient identifier. The 2020 spending agreement included a report provision stating that HHS should provide technical assistance to private sector-led patient identification initiatives. The problem with incomplete or inaccurate demographic information is that it may make algorithmic accuracy less accurate. Errors in text transcription and free text can also have an impact on algorithm accuracy. Standardized data elements are frequently required to improve matching algorithm accuracy (for example, the phone number, the date of birth, and the address).
More and more organizations are implementing technologies that enable them to identify patients more easily, such as referential matching software. In the United States, biometrics are becoming increasingly used to identify patients. Several emerging technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), are being explored by hospitals to improve patient identification. A radio frequency identification (RFID) label has a higher storage capacity than a barcode, and it can be read automatically. Furthermore, encryption is one of their most advanced security features, in addition to barcode technology. Unresolved patient identification issues, according to the literature review, have three distinct themes. As a result of a patient’s lack of identification, safety and quality of care issues are raised throughout the healthcare continuum, from diagnostic testing to treatment.
A total of 7,600 incorrect patient identification events occurred over the course of January 2013 to August 2015, according to the study. A patient’s identity number can be used to deny health insurance at a rate of 15%. Aside from patient misidentification, there are data sharing and interoperability concerns. Unique, ubiquitous identifiers are becoming increasingly important as new types of data streams become integrated into clinical settings. These recommendations can address the shortcomings of both current and emerging approaches. Further research is needed on the use ofRFID technologies and the possibility of using big data analytics to match patients. Practices can increase the number of patient matching rates by requiring registration participants to take photos and incorporating them into their medical records.
New data streams will be more difficult to integrate into medical records if unique identifiers are not provided. A global challenge for the identification of patients, as reported by Vimalachandran P, Wang H, Zhang Y, Heyward B, Whittaker F, Dixon B E., and Fernandes L in The International Journal of Patient Identification. Perspectives on Health Information Management, 2015 Grannis S J., Xu H., Vest J R., Kasthurirathne S, Bo N., and Moscovitch Bet al., ” Genetically modified Escherichia coli with Escherichia coli with Escherichia coli with Escherichia coli with Escherichia coli with The evaluation of how data standardization and validation affect patient matching accuracy.
A patient is identified when he or she is correctly matched to appropriate interventions and communicated with accurate and dependable information about their identity throughout the continuum of care.
Verification can be completed if you request it by phone or in writing by requesting your address, phone number, birth date, and/or medical record number, as well as confirming that the information is correct.
A patient will be given three pieces of information before receiving an identification band: full name, date of birth, and patient’s address; a variety of other information, such as phone number, and the patient’s next of kin information, will be required to verify his or her identity
