CHIME Applauds Language in Spending Deal to Support Patient Identification

ANN ARBOR, MI, Dec. 17, 2019 – A bipartisan spending deal announced yesterday by Congress includes directives to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to address problems related to patient matching. Although the bill did not lift a ban on funding for a unique patient identifier, the deal “encourages HHS to continue to provide technical assistance to private-sector-led initiatives to develop a coordinated national strategy that will promote patient safety by accurately identifying patients to their health information.”

 

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has long advocated for a unique national patient identifier to reliably link patients to their data. CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell issued the following statement:

 

“Congress’ direction for HHS to study ways to improve patient matching, which can include a unique patient identifier, is yet another important step in our efforts to ensure that patients are accurately and easily matched to their data as they receive care across disparate providers and others in the healthcare system.

 

We look forward to working with HHS and Congress to resolve this issue once and for all. 

 

This report language is the result of dozens of stakeholders, along with our champions Congressmen Bill Foster and Mike Kelly, joining forces and demanding better for our patients. We’ve made historic progress on this critical patient safety issue and we stand ready to see it across the finish line.”

 

 

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs), chief innovation officers (CIOs), chief digital officers (CDOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 3,200 members in 56 countries and over 150 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.

 

Candace Stuart

Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME

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