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Patient identification has always been a hit or miss within the US healthcare system. Patient misidentification cases cause a plethora of serious issues for not only healthcare providers but also patients. Patient mix-ups, patient safety issues, medical identity theft, duplicate medical records, and overlays are just some of the many issues that can be traced back to patient identification errors. These issues are becoming common even during the pandemic - Sacred Health facing a mix-up, for instance. 

The wrong person was notified about it. Moreover, the wrong person also received the bill of the actual patient, which ultimately didn’t go through. Wrong patient identification errors occur every day and most are not identified until it’s too late. Not only are patient misidentification cases problematic for patients, but they create issues for healthcare providers as well.

Consequences of mix-ups

Patients face delays in treatment, wrong procedures, repeated lab tests - ultimately hampering patient outcomes as well as jeopardizing patient safety in the process. Such wrongly identified patients receive shocking bills for medical procedures, treatment, or healthcare services they never got. The lucky ones out of these patients can get it written off as denied claims, although, that’s a huge cost for the providers. 

However, forward-thinking hospitals and health systems are not struggling with patient misidentification - they have taken initiatives themselves to eliminate such issues to prevent patient misidentification.

Leading providers are using RightPatient

RightPatient is the industry’s leading touchless patient identification platform trusted by many pioneering healthcare providers. Using the photos of patients, the platform prevents patient identification issues like mix-ups, duplicates, medical identity theft, denied claims, and more.

After successfully scheduling an appointment, patients receive an SMS or email, after which patients are required to provide a selfie and a photo of their driver’s license. RightPatient matches the photos automatically and verifies the identity of the patients remotely.

Source: Wrong Patient Identification Errors Lead to Several Issues – Are You Preventing Them?