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Patient ID Ban (And Why It Should Be Removed)

PATIENT ID BAN (And Why it Should Be Removed)

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A unique or national patient identifier is similar to a Social Security number, where a number code would be used across all providers to identify individual patients. This would replace the current system that uses a name, address, or date of birth. Patient Identifiers are thought to solve the issue of inconsistent patient matching.

The Patient ID ban prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from funding, implementing, or developing a unique patient identifier system to eliminate or reduce the inconsistent patient matching.

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WHY SHOULD THE PATIENT ID BAN BE REMOVED?

With the removal of the Patient ID ban, numerous incidents in healthcare that are due to patient mismatching would be reduced.

Incidents that can occur due to patient mismatching includes but are not limited to:

  • Losing a loved one because he or she is mistaken for another patient, leading to a medical error.

  • An infant given expressed breast milk from the wrong mother who was infected with hepatitis.

  • A patient in cardiac arrest denied lifesaving care because the care team pulled the wrong patient's record and adhered to a do not resuscitate order.

  • Opiates unknowingly prescribed to patients with a history of addiction.

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Patient Identity and Matching

PATIENT IDENTITY AND MATCHING

Patient matching is the practice of connecting disparate patient records across different medical providers or facilities. A patient visiting two different doctors or two different hospitals should yield the same medical record, but the data shows this does not usually happen.

Inconsistent patient matching creates a handful of problems for the patient and the provider.

Consequences of mismatched data

Data-matching errors present a considerable threat to the delivery of suitable care and patient safety and carry major consequences. Some of the consequences of mismatched patient data include:


Mismatched patient data and incomplete medical history can lead to potentially fatal consequences. Mismatched data could result in incorrect or unnecessary medical care.
An example would be if a patient is not matched to the correct record, a drug could be prescribed to the wrong patient. If the clinician does not know of the patient’s drug history, a fatal outcome may result.



Patient safety is always a major priority, but there is also a significant cost burden on the health system if there is a patient matching error.


POTENTIAL SOLUTION WITH SECURITY CONSEQUENCES

A common solution is a national patient identifier. An NPI is similar to a Social Security number, where a number code would be used across all providers to identify individual patients. This would replace the current system that uses a name, address, or date of birth.

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