CHIME: Unique Patient Identifiers Would Increase Patient Safety

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

In a letter sent to lawmakers, CHIME calls for regulations prohibiting the use of federal funds to develop a unique patient identifier system to be lifted.

“The accurate and efficient matching of patients with their healthcare data is a significant threat to patient safety,” wrote CHIME CEO Russell P. Branzell and CHIME Board Chair Charles E. Christian in a letter sent to Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, and Patty Murray, ranking member of the committee and a Democrat from Washington State. The purpose of the letter is to beat the drum for the use of unique patient identifiers.

According to iHealth Beat, Congress has prohibited HHS from using federal funding to identify standards to improve positive patient identification and create a unique patient identifier system since 1999. CHIME’s goal is to convince lawmakers that lifting these regulations would ultimately lead to a positive effect on patient safety.

Healthcare IT News reports that, in calling for the removal of the outdated prohibition, Branzell and Christian stated, “We believe then that the nation can sincerely engage in a dialogue on finding solutions to solve this fundamental patient safety problem.

“We must first acknowledge that the lack of a consistent patient identity matching strategy is the most significant challenge inhibiting the safe and secure electronic exchange of health information. As our healthcare system begins to realize the innately transformational capabilities of health IT, moving toward nationwide health information exchange, this essential core functionality consistency in patient identity matching must be addressed.”

Others also believe that unique patient identifiers are the answer to identifying and individual records from multiple sources. “One of the thorniest problems in our healthcare system is correctly identifying all the records for a given patient across the community. It's critical to protect a patient's privacy but it's essential that we know as much about a patient as we can in order to deliver safe and effective care,” said Albert O. Shar, Vice President with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.