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These are quite common and such cases are known as medical record mix-ups. The Oak Lawn, Illinois-based hospital was asked to send over the medical record of one Darnell Payne - he had to send the information to his insurer. However, the provider sent the medical record of an entirely different patient, leaving Mr. Payne baffled. He had someone else’s information, Social Security number, phone number, medical history, and so on. He also wanted to make sure that this doesn’t happen with anyone else.

But these do happen with others - medical record mix-ups are quite common within the US healthcare system. This is because of the lack of an effective patient identification system present in healthcare facilities. In fact, Mr. Payne was one of the lucky ones who got to find it out early. There are many cases where patients have been treated based on someone else’s medical record. Many have even undergone surgeries based on the wrong patient’s medical record! Naturally, patient record mix-ups lead to delayed or wrong procedures, repeated lab tests, adverse healthcare outcomes, and patient safety issues. While such cases are common, they are preventable.

Imagine this - why are these mix-ups happening and what can stop them and their consequences? Positive patient identification, of course! If patients can be properly identified right from the beginning, then mix-ups can be eliminated, and that’s exactly what RightPatient does.

RightPatient is a touchless patient identification solution that is used by several healthcare providers like St. Joseph's Health System, Terrebonne General Medical Center, Grady Health, and Catholic Health of Long Island. It ensures that patients are identified safely and accurately across the continuum of care using their faces. During appointment scheduling, patients receive an SMS/email and they need to take a selfie and a photo of their driver’s license. The platform matches the photos, validating patients’ identities. This leads to the elimination of medical record-mixups and enhances patient safety, improves healthcare outcomes, and prevents unwanted incidents.