Warner, Banks Introduce Bill to Better Match a Patient to their Health Records
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the Patient Matching and Transparency in Certified Health IT (MATCH IT) Act , bipartisan legislation that would improve standardization of patients’ demographic data entered into certified health IT products to help decrease patient misidentification and promote interoperability. The bill would also create an anonymous, voluntary system to measure patient match rates across the healthcare ecosystem. The ability to match patients to their health records is critical to health data interoperability, vital to HIPAA Privacy Rule compliance, and would improve patient safety. “Patient misidentification is a serious problem that has led to medical mistakes and even patient death,” said Sen. Warner . “My bipartisan bill would improve the interoperability between health care systems and decrease patient misidentification, while protecting patient privacy and leading to better patient care.” “Patient matching errors are a hidden tax on the healthcare system,” said Sen. Banks . “This bipartisan bill would make sure doctors have the right patient’s records and reduce medical errors, speed up care, and reduce healthcare costs.” The MATCH IT Act would: Direct HHS to develop uniform data standards and definitions for accurate and precise patient matching; Establish minimum data set standard needed to support the adoption of patient match rate at 99.9; Require all Certified Electronic Health Record Technology systems to adopt these standards; and Establish a voluntary Medicare bonus for providers who meet a patient matching rate of 90%. The MATCH IT Act is endorsed by the Patient ID Now Coalition, American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), American Heart Association, Becton Dickinson (BD), College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS), Intermountain Health, 4medica, Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Alliance of Orthopaedic Executives (AAOE), American College of Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Baptist Health, Civitas Networks for Health, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), DirectTrust, e4health, Harris Data Integrity Solutions, Imprivata, Medical Group Management Association, MyLigo, Inc, Nemours Children’s Health, OrthoVirginia, Parkland Health, Parkview Health, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabus Health, SynchroLink AI, Valley Children’s Healthcare, and Verato. “A close family member was undergoing cancer treatment when they were taken to the emergency room within the same hospital system where they had been receiving care. Despite being treated within that system, the ER staff had no record that they were a cancer patient. They didn’t have an active medication list or information about ongoing treatments. I had to rush to the ER to provide the missing medical information without which I don’t believe they’d be alive today,” said Terri Ripley, CIO of OrthoVirginia . “The MATCH IT Act is critical to solving this issue and ensuring providers have access to a complete medical history—including previous x-rays, surgical history, and active medications—to deliver safe, high-quality care.” “At Virginia Health Information, we see every day the essential role accurate, timely data plays in delivering quality patient care. When health information is correctly connected to the right patient, clinicians can spend less time searching for records and more time caring for people,” said Kyle Russell, Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Health Information. “The MATCH IT Act advances a common-sense national approach that improves patient safety, reduces unnecessary costs, and affords Virginians the right care at the right time.” “Patient misidentification directly threatens lives, transforming what seems like a technical challenge into an urgent patient safety crisis,” said Heather Stebbins, President of Virginia Health Information Management Association. “The MATCH IT Act recognizes the importance of data integrity and interoperability in modern healthcare. The Virginia Health Information Management Association (VHIMA) commends Senators Mark Warner and Jim Banks for championing legislation that helps ensure the right information reaches the right provider at the right time.” “AI has the potential to transform healthcare, but its effectiveness depends on accurate, trusted patient data. As providers manage a historic volume of health information, the need for a national patient matching standard has never been more urgent,” said Russ Branzell, CEO of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). “The MATCH IT Act will strengthen patient safety, protect patient privacy, and improve interoperability by ensuring health information is accurately matched to the right individual. By reducing duplicate records and eliminating costly, manual reconciliation processes, this legislation will create new efficiencies across the healthcare system while laying the foundation for safe and effective AI adoption.” “On behalf of HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), I applaud Senators Mark Warner and Jim Banks for their bipartisan leadership in introducing the MATCH IT Act in the Senate,” said Hal Wolf, President and CEO of HIMSS. “Accurate patient identification is fundamental to safe, interoperable, and high-quality care. By addressing the persistent challenge of patient misidentification, the MATCH IT Act will help improve patient safety, strengthen privacy protections and ensure providers have access to complete and accurate information for delivering informed care. We now urge Congress to advance this critical legislation.” “Medical care begins with the information found in a patient’s health record. However, patient misidentification within the healthcare ecosystem continues to threaten patient safety and privacy, which can lead to dire outcomes,” said David D. Cella, CEO of American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). “With the introduction of the MATCH IT Act, we are one step closer to ensuring patients’ health information is complete and accurate. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) commends Senator Warner and Senator Banks for leading the effort to address this critical issue.” Full text of the bill can be found here . ###
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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the Patient Matching and Transparency in Certified Health IT (MATCH IT) Act , bipartisan legislation that would improve standardization of patients’ demographic data entered into certified health IT products to help decrease patient misidentification and promote interoperability. The bill would also create an anonymous, voluntary system to measure patient match rates across the healthcare ecosystem. The ability to match patients to their health records is critical to health data interoperability, vital to HIPAA Privacy Rule compliance, and would improve patient safety. “Patient misidentification is a serious problem that has led to medical mistakes and even patient death,” said Sen. Warner . “My bipartisan bill would improve the interoperability between health care systems and decrease patient misidentification, while protecting patient privacy and leading to better patient care.” “Patient matching errors are a hidden tax on the healthcare system,” said Sen. Banks . “This bipartisan bill would make sure doctors have the right patient’s records and reduce medical errors, speed up care, and reduce healthcare costs.” The MATCH IT Act would: Direct HHS to develop uniform data standards and definitions for accurate and precise patient matching; Establish minimum data set standard needed to support the adoption of patient match rate at 99.9; Require all Certified Electronic Health Record Technology systems to adopt these standards; and Establish a voluntary Medicare bonus for providers who meet a patient matching rate of 90%. The MATCH IT Act is endorsed by the Patient ID Now Coalition, American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), American Heart Association, Becton Dickinson (BD), College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS), Intermountain Health, 4medica, Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Alliance of Orthopaedic Executives (AAOE), American College of Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Baptist Health, Civitas Networks for Health, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), DirectTrust, e4health, Harris Data Integrity Solutions, Imprivata, Medical Group Management Association, MyLigo, Inc, Nemours Children’s Health, OrthoVirginia, Parkland Health, Parkview Health, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabus Health, SynchroLink AI, Valley Children’s Healthcare, and Verato. “A close family member was undergoing cancer treatment when they were taken to the emergency room within the same hospital system where they had been receiving care. Despite being treated within that system, the ER staff had no record that they were a cancer patient. They didn’t have an active medication list or information about ongoing treatments. I had to rush to the ER to provide the missing medical information without which I don’t believe they’d be alive today,” said Terri Ripley, CIO of OrthoVirginia . “The MATCH IT Act is critical to solving this issue and ensuring providers have access to a complete medical history—including previous x-rays, surgical history, and active medications—to deliver safe, high-quality care.” “At Virginia Health Information, we see every day the essential role accurate, timely data plays in delivering quality patient care. When health information is correctly connected to the right patient, clinicians can spend less time searching for records and more time caring for people,” said Kyle Russell, Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Health Information. “The MATCH IT Act advances a common-sense national approach that improves patient safety, reduces unnecessary costs, and affords Virginians the right care at the right time.” “Patient misidentification directly threatens lives, transforming what seems like a technical challenge into an urgent patient safety crisis,” said Heather Stebbins, President of Virginia Health Information Management Association. “The MATCH IT Act recognizes the importance of data integrity and interoperability in modern healthcare. The Virginia Health Information Management Association (VHIMA) commends Senators Mark Warner and Jim Banks for championing legislation that helps ensure the right information reaches the right provider at the right time.” “AI has the potential to transform healthcare, but its effectiveness depends on accurate, trusted patient data. As providers manage a historic volume of health information, the need for a national patient matching standard has never been more urgent,” said Russ Branzell, CEO of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). “The MATCH IT Act will strengthen patient safety, protect patient privacy, and improve interoperability by ensuring health information is accurately matched to the right individual. By reducing duplicate records and eliminating costly, manual reconciliation processes, this legislation will create new efficiencies across the healthcare system while laying the foundation for safe and effective AI adoption.” “On behalf of HIMSS (Healthcare Information Management System Society), I applaud Senators Mark Warner and Jim Banks for their bipartisan leadership in introducing the MATCH IT Act in the Senate,” said Hal Wolf, President and CEO of HIMSS. “Accurate patient identification is fundamental to safe, interoperable, and high-quality care. By addressing the persistent challenge of patient misidentification, the MATCH IT Act will help improve patient safety, strengthen privacy protections and ensure providers have access to complete and accurate information for delivering informed care. We now urge Congress to advance this critical legislation.” “Medical care begins with the information found in a patient’s health record. However, patient misidentification within the healthcare ecosystem continues to threaten patient safety and privacy, which can lead to dire outcomes,” said David D. Cella, CEO of American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). “With the introduction of the MATCH IT Act, we are one step closer to ensuring patients’ health information is complete and accurate. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) commends Senator Warner and Senator Banks for leading the effort to address this critical issue.” Full text of the bill can be found here . ###
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