Thanks to the global pandemic, providers were forced to re-imagine how healthcare is delivered beyond the four walls of a physical care setting. As they closed their doors to non-emergency and elective care, a massive shift in innovation, acceleration and adoption of patient engagement technology occurred, serving as a much-needed catalyst for digital transformation.
As industries like retail, banking, food, and airlines embrace digital experiences, healthcare should be no exception. The renewed focus on a digital front door strategy allows patients the flexibility, personalization and convenience they’ve grown accustomed to. It’s the beginning of a new age in healthcare where quality patient information is fundamental to delivering and exceeding patient expectations.
The New Age of Patient Information
Patient identity is the backbone of everything in healthcare, providing the fuel for healthcare consumerization and the keys to the digital front door. As organizations focus on improving the patient experience, enabling patient access, and measuring and reporting performance, a patient identity strategy is core to enabling these enterprise-wide initiatives.
As patients seek care across multiple settings, both in-person and virtual, care coordination challenges increase without a single view of the same patient. Enter patient identification—paramount to ensuring patients receive safe, accurate, and personalized care. According to one estimate, matching within facilities can be as low as 80% — meaning that 1 out of every 5 patients may not be matched to all his or her records when seeking care at a location they’ve already received care from in the past.
The vision of an integrated, interoperable healthcare ecosystem starts with consistently and correctly linking disparate clinical and non-clinical data across silos to generate the single best, most accurate patient record. Having and maintaining a single, accurate view of the patient — the “golden record” — is critical to close gaps in care at the individual level, address patient safety concerns and revenue leakage associated with incorrect patient matching.
The vision of an integrated, interoperable healthcare ecosystem starts with consistently and correctly linking disparate clinical and non-clinical data to a single person.
In AHIMA’s 2020 Patient Identification Survey, 22% of respondents reported they achieved a 1% or less duplicate error rate in their electronic health record (EHR). How does an organization successfully get there? It starts with resolution, enrichment and protection — the three pillars of identity management that are foundational to achieve the most accurate, comprehensive and secure view of today’s healthcare consumer.
- Resolution – Confidently identify and match patient records & ensure accurate patient demographic data
- Enrichment – Update and enhance patient information for the most current, accurate, holistic patient view
- Protection – Authenticate a patient identity before sharing sensitive information
Enabling Digital Transformation
Patient identity management can prevent medical identity theft, optimize the revenue cycle, reduce denied claims, prevent duplicate record creation and enhance patient safety – leading to improved financials and boosting bottom lines in the process. In today’s vastly connected world, consumers expect a seamless patient experience based on accurate and secure data. If other industries have long accomplished this undertaking, why not healthcare?
In the New Age of Patient Information — a single, best patient view is required. Download our latest guide to understand where your organization stands within the three pillars of patient identity management and how to develop a roadmap for ensuring you have the most accurate, comprehensive and secure view of today’s healthcare consumer.
