Improving Healthcare Safety with Accurate Patient Identification

/299 views / 0 Comments/in , , , /by

Can you imagine, almost 10% of patients are wrongly identified during medical record verifications? This staggering statistic emphasizes the critical importance of patient identification in healthcare. In this piece, we delve into the profound connection between patient safety and patient identification, highlighting the potential risks and repercussions of imprecise patient identification and its impact on healthcare interoperability and data precision.

Patient misidentification can lead to severe hazards, including compromised data precision and interoperability issues. Such mistakes can have a direct bearing on patient safety, resulting in medication inaccuracies, unnecessary surgeries, and incorrect patient data. In such a complex, high-risk environment, precise patient identification is not merely desirable. It is a life-saving measure.

Welcome to RightPatient, an innovative patient identification solution that transforms patient safety. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, RightPatient guarantees the correct identification of patients, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of healthcare services. It acts as a digital shield, a primary defensive line against the pitfalls of erroneous patient identity.

Consider the example of International Health Management, a prestigious NGO delivering high-quality healthcare services in various urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. They grappled with inaccurate patient identification, causing a range of issues like duplicate patient records and medication distribution errors. In their pursuit of a solution, they incorporated RightPatient’s web-based fingerprint biometric identification system into their healthcare framework. The outcome was smooth, accurate, and speedy patient identification.

Utilizing unique biometric modalities like fingerprints, RightPatient ensures accurate patient identification in seconds. It not only prevents the creation of duplicate medical records and medication errors but significantly minimizes the potential risks and repercussions of medical fraud and identity theft. This reinstates the confidence of patients in healthcare services.

RightPatient does more than just improve patient safety – it also fortifies financial health by mitigating costs linked to misidentification. With RightPatient, healthcare providers embark on a path towards enhanced patient safety, improved data integrity, and interoperability. Enjoy the tranquility that comes with the assurance that your patients are accurately identified, every single time.

Step into a new era of patient safety with RightPatient, where healthcare, technology, and trust converge into a harmonious symphony of wellbeing. To discover more about how RightPatient can revolutionize your healthcare services, visit our website or get in touch with us directly.

How to Use RightPatient

  1. Choose RightPatient: Commit to consistent, reliable patient identification for improved data integrity, interoperability, and patient safety. Visit our website to get started.
  2. Implement RightPatient: Incorporate RightPatient's web-based fingerprint biometric identification system into your healthcare framework. Learn more about our biometric patient identification solution.
  3. Experience the Benefits: Enjoy the tranquility that comes with the assurance that your patients are accurately identified, every single time. Discover how RightPatient can fortify your financial health by mitigating costs linked to misidentification.

FAQs

  1. What is RightPatient?
    RightPatient is an innovative patient identification solution that ensures accurate identification of patients, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of healthcare services.
  2. How does RightPatient improve patient safety?
    RightPatient mitigates the risks of patient misidentification, which can lead to severe hazards like medication inaccuracies, unnecessary surgeries, and incorrect patient data. It acts as a digital shield against these pitfalls.
  3. What technology does RightPatient use for patient identification?
    RightPatient utilizes unique biometric modalities like fingerprints for accurate patient identification.
  4. Does RightPatient only improve patient safety?
    No, RightPatient also fortifies financial health by mitigating costs linked to misidentification, improving data integrity and interoperability.
  5. How does RightPatient prevent the creation of duplicate medical records?
    By ensuring accurate patient identification, RightPatient prevents the creation of duplicate medical records, which can lead to medication errors and other potential risks.
accurate patient identification in healthcare discussed during 09/11/15 #HITs,m tweet chat

#HITsm Tweetchat Highlights Progress, Obstacles for Patient Identification in Healthcare

/5195 views / 0 Comments/in , , , /by
accurate patient identification in healthcare discussed during 09/11/15 #HITs,m tweet chat
accurate patient identification in healthcare discussed during 09/11/15 #HITs,m tweet chat

Healthcare professionals from around the world discussed the dilemma of achieving accurate patient identification in healthcare during the 09.11.15 #HITsm tweetchat. (Photo courtesy of HL7 Standards)

We had the honor of hosting the weekly #HITsm Twitterchat this past Friday centered on the topic of patient identification in healthcare. For those not aware of the #HITsm weekly chat, the HL7 Standards Web site deftly describes it as:

“…#HITsm is an acronym for “healthcare IT social media” and we focus on current topics that are influencing healthcare technology, health IT, and the use of social media in healthcare.” (courtesy of: http://www.hl7standards.com/hitsm-chat/)

The chat demographic spans a wide range of healthcare professionals — vendors, doctors, patients, industry experts, and even national professional healthcare organizations — all coalescing for one hour each week to discuss a wide range of topics related to health IT. 

Considering the importance of establishing accurate patient identification in healthcare and it’s ripple effect to many other aspects of care delivery, interoperability, accountability, and improving individual and population health, we selected this as a topic for the weekly discussion. Included in the discussion was an evaluation and assessment of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives’ (CHIME) national patient identity challenge to determine if it will actually produce a solution that will eradicate the burdens of matching patient data and bring us closer to establishing higher data integrity, reducing medical errors, and improving care.

Topics for the chat included:

1. Establishing a national patient identifier continues to be a hot debate – will it ever materialize? Are there tangible benefits to a national patient identifier?
2. Will @CIOCHIME’s national patient ID challenge eradicate the burdens of matching patient data and bring us closer to establishing higher data integrity, reducing medical errors, and improving care?
3. Will true healthcare interoperability ever be realized in the absence of fixing the problem of inaccurate patientID?
4. Do patients now have an inherently larger role to ensure the accuracy of their medical records?
5. Does the explosion of mobile devices, telehealth, & mhealth tools raise the urgency level for healthcare providers to implement stronger patient ID technology?
6. What new patient identification technologies show promise to help improve patient matching and interoperability?

Responses, comments, and opinions to these topics were insightful and intelligent. Here is a list of select responses and feedback to some of the topics:

Topic 1: Establishing a national patient identifier continues to be a hot debate – will it ever materialize? Are there tangible benefits to a national patient identifier?

Topic 2: Will @CIOCHIME’s national patient ID challenge eradicate the burdens of matching patient data and bring us closer to establishing higher data integrity, reducing medical errors, and improving care?

Topic 3: Will true healthcare #interoperability ever be realized in the absence of fixing the problem of inaccurate #patientID?

Topic 4: Do patients now have an inherently larger role to ensure the accuracy of their medical records?

Topic 5: Does the explosion of mobile devices, telehealth, & mhealth tools raise the urgency level for healthcare providers to implement stronger patient ID technology?

          T5: Again, use case specific. Many of the use cases today won’t benefit from national pat id… BUT… not say to they won’t #HITsm

Topic 6: What new patient identification technologies show promise to help improve patient matching and interoperability?

           #HITsm T6 In healthcare, I would expect less fraud w biometric ID’s. Solves unconscious patient problem and the form time problem. #HITsm

A copy of the complete chat transcript can be found here.

As you can see from the selected tweets, the topic of achieving accurate patient identification in healthcare is not easy especially in the context of identifying a solution that can be used as a universal credential. We were pleased that the #HITsm tweet chat participants provided pragmatic, intelligent comments and insight to our questions demonstrating their keen ability to identify the root causes of achieving a national patient identifier and their tacit support for CHIME’s contest and prowess to thrust this complex issue into the national spotlight.

Our thanks to @OchoTex and @michenoteboom for providing us the opportunity to host their weekly #HITsm chat on patient identification in healthcare and for all of the healthcare professionals who participated!

tweet chat on patient identification in healthcare

RightPatient® to Host September 11th #HITsm Chat on Patient Identification in Healthcare

/5659 views / 0 Comments/in , , , /by
tweet chat on patient identification in healthcare

Join us this Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST as we host the weekly #HITsm tweet chat and discuss the conundrum of establishing accurate patient identification in healthcare. The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) recently issued a $1 million “national patient ID challenge” in an effort to find a universal solution for accurately matching patients with their health information. 

tweet chat on patient identification in healthcare

Join us on Friday, September the 11th for the #HITsm tweet chat where we will discuss CHIME’s national patient identifier challenge and the state of patient identification in healthcare.

Patient identification in healthcare has bubbled to the top of the health IT priority list since accurately identifying patients is perhaps the most fundamental element of ensuring data accuracy throughout the care continuum but a confluence of barriers has inhibited advancing initiatives intended to improve it and help increase patient safety. 

During the chat we will discuss CHIME’s initiative and debate on whether it truly has the ability to improve patient identification in healthcare plus we will talk in-depth about how inaccurate patient ID effects healthcare interoperability, the evolving patient role to ensure the accuracy of their PHI, new patient touchpoints that complicate the goal of implementing technology that improves identification accuracy, and which new patient identification technologies show promise to help advance accurate patient identification in healthcare.

Please join the discussion beginning Friday at 11 a.m. CST, 12 p.m. EDT by following the #HITsm hashtag.

Additional information about the topic and discussion can be found here.

What additional topics would you like to see added to the conversation on establishing accurate patient identification in healthcare?