CHIME Announces National Patient ID Challenge

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

CHIME has announced the winner of its National Patient ID Challenge will also be the winner of $1 million.

The innovator or designer who comes up with the best solution to CHIME’s recently announced National Patient ID Challenge will be awarded with bragging rights as well as the $1 million grand prize. So just what is the challenge? According to CHIME, it’s to “ensure 100 percent accuracy of every patient’s health info to reduce preventable medical errors and eliminate unnecessary hospital costs/resources.”

“There is a growing consensus among payers and providers that a unique patient ID would radically reduce medical errors and save lives,” said CHIME CEO and President Russell P. Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO in an announcement. “Incomplete or duplicate health records present significant issues in terms of patient safety, and there is a pressing need for preventing, detecting and removing inaccurate records so hospitals can positively match the right data with the right patient in order to provide the best possible care.”

According to MedCity News, the concept of national patient identifications has been around for some time, but recent high profile breaches like that at Anthem have brought the subject back into the spotlight. Beside the fact that patient identification numbers would eliminate the need for social security numbers to be included in medical records, it would also eliminate duplicate patient records and errors with patients of the same name.

“As health information exchange becomes more prevalent, patient matching is a perennial issue,” said Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA, CEO of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).“A solution would be a significant step toward ensuring the integrity of health information and, as a result, better patient care. AHIMA is proud to support this challenge.”