Correctly and consistently linking patient data across the care continuum remains a significant challenge for U.S. hospitals and health information exchanges (HIEs), according to a new report from the Washington, D.C.-based eHealth Initiative Foundation and the Monrovia, California-based NextGate. The findings are based on a national survey of healthcare providers and HIE leaders to help capture a candid and comprehensive picture of the current patient matching landscape.
As noted in a press release posted to NextGate’s website, “Massive changes are taking place in the healthcare ecosystem as the U.S. transitions to a value-based care model, including many mergers and acquisitions and a wide expansion of interoperability services for HIEs. This study helps to better define actions currently in place, adoption barriers, and the growing need for government support.”
“As the number of players and organizations in the healthcare space continue to expand rapidly, patient matching is even more important,” Jennifer Covich Bordenick, CEO of the eHealth Initiative Foundation, said in a statement contained in the press release.
Key findings of the survey include:
> Thirty-eight percent of U.S. healthcare providers have incurred an adverse event in last two years as the result of a patient matching issue.
> Data entry errors are the leading cause of duplicate medical records.
> Lack of funding and staff are the biggest barriers to patient matching for HIEs, while providers point to lack of prioritization and technology.
> Sixty-seven percent of providers employ quality assurance steps to help identify discrepancies during or post registration.
> Approximately 70 percent of providers and HIE leaders “completely” or “somewhat” agree that federal funding should be made available for a national patient identifier.
> Healthcare providers and HIE leaders see data standardization and biometrics as the most promising innovations to impact patient matching efforts nationally.
“Incomplete or inaccurate data in one’s health record can be detrimental to patient safety and a significant barrier to delivering coordinated, patient-centric care,” said Andy Aroditis, NextGate’s CEO, in a statement carried in the press release. “This survey confirms that healthcare institutions must continue to invest in better approaches to facilitate a comprehensive and accurate record of care across the continuum.
As noted in the full report, “To ensure the availability, safety and integrity of patient medical records, individuals must be correctly identified and consistently matched to their healthcare data. The absence of just a single medication in a patient’s record can greatly impact a decision made by a clinician. Patient identification errors often occur when demographic data about an individual is collected, particularly during registration. However poor system integration, lack of data standardization processes, and inadequate matching algorithms also contribute to duplicate and erroneous records. Individuals move, marry, divorce and visit multiple providers in their community—where new records are created and the potential for patient misidentification grows.”
Further, the report noted, “Survey respondents were asked to select the statements they believed contributed to duplicate records at their organization. Among all respondents, 66 percent rated data entry errors as the greatest contributor, followed by record matching/search terminology (46 percent), then poor system integration (42 percent). Among HIEs, data entry errors were also rated as the highest contributor to duplication (70 percent). The same trend can be seen among providers, with 65 percent mentioning data entry errors.”
With regard to barriers, “Survey respondents could select multiple responses when asked what they believed the biggest barriers were to improving their organization’s patient matching. Lack of prioritization (41 percent) and lack of technology (41 percent) were the leading answers of all respondents. For HIEs, lack of staff (42 percent) and lack of funding (34 percent) were the leading answers. For providers, lack of technology (47 percent) and lack of prioritization (45 percent) were the dominant answers. It is worth noting that more providers answered this question than HIEs.”
As described on its website, the eHealth Initiative and Foundation (eHI) is an independent, non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to serve as the industry leader in convening executives and multi-stakeholder groups to identify best practices that transform healthcare through the use of technology and innovation. Working with its membership, eHI conducts research and leads education and advocacy efforts that address the needs of healthcare stakeholders, and in particular those of patients.
