STAT October 20, 2020
When the U.S. House of Representatives voted in August to overturn a ban on using federal funds to establish a national patient identifier — a unique health ID number for every U.S. resident — the move was widely lauded by health care groups.
A national patient identifier could be the unambiguous thread that would tie all medical records across all health care organizations to the correct person. It would provide the basis for improved care coordination and enhanced patient safety by ensuring that physicians have access to comprehensive medical data at the point of care.
It’s certainly a step in the right direction. Today, 30% of patient records are linked to the wrong people for a variety of reasons, such...
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