Specifically, duplicates in the MPI-having a single patient with more than one MRN- can lead to medical decisions made based on incomplete information, duplicate procedures performed, reimbursement denials, and potentially medical malpractice risks .
What possible adverse consequences to a patient that may have resulted from the duplication of records?
Duplicate records cause delay and improper treatment
One-fifth of the patients have incomplete health records due to duplicate data, so they cannot fully view the patient’s medical records. This also leads to delays, unnecessary tests, or improper treatment of the patients.
What adverse impact do high duplication rates have?
For example, a high rate means a facility is likely to have problems with missing clinical information, duplicate tests and treatments, and billing and accounts receivables delays as well as an increased risk of medical errors. According to AHIMA, the average duplication rate in a hospital setting is approximately 10%.
What causes duplicate health records?
Duplicate medical records and overlays are created as a result of patient identification errors . ... An overlay occurs when one patient’s record is overwritten with data from another patient’s record, creating a combined, inaccurate record.
What are the methods to prevent duplicate entries in MPI?
- Avoid rushing during the registration process, even during volume surges.
- Ask patients to spell their names instead of making assumptions.
- Meet with health information management to discuss ways to avoid duplicates.
- Implement consistent policies organization wide.
What are the stages in which data quality errors found in a health record most commonly occur?
A study from that time found that “most errors occurred during the ordering (49 percent) and administration (26 percent) stages , which is what was found in this analysis,” said Grissinger and Lawes.
Can a patient have more than one MRN?
Duplicate medical records occur when one patient is associated with more than one Medical Record Number, or MRN. The existence of duplicate records in a healthcare system is one of the most critical issues currently facing health information technology (HIT) departments 3 .
What can a medical coder find in the master patient index?
The elements in the MPI include both demographic data and visit-specific information. The demographic information includes data such as the patient’s name, birth date, sex, and Social Security number (SSN) . ... The data contained in the MPI will ultimately identify patients, such as for treatment options.
Why is the master patient index maintained permanently?
The MPI should be retained on a permanent basis to provide historical access to basic resident information and dates of stay in an organization .
Why is it so important that the master patient index MPI is accurate?
An accurate MPI, whether in paper or electronic format, may be considered the most important resource in a healthcare setting because it is the link that tracks an individual’s activity within an organization and across the continuum of care . Those individuals may be patients, providers, or members of a health plan.
Can duplicate health records affect patient treatment?
Duplicate medical records often contain inaccurate or incomplete medical history and can lead to wrong treatments due to factors like medication, lab test results, and allergies not being mentioned. These can even cost a patient their lives.
Why do duplicate medical records have to be merged?
Mergers and acquisitions benefits integration of care, decreases duplication of clinical services , fosters clinical standardization to reduce cost for operating expenses and improves overall quality.
How do you deal with duplicate data?
- Standardize contact data. ...
- Define the level of matching. ...
- Utilize software to identify duplicates.
What is an overlap in medical records?
Overlap: more than one MPI entry or file for the same person in two or more facilities within an enterprise . For example, patient John Smith has medical record number 12345 at facility A and a medical record number 447788 at facility B within the same enterprise-wide system.
How templates increase the efficiency of electronic communication?
The major benefit of templates is efficiency. Providers that have optimized EHR templates can streamline documentation workflow and get back hours of lost time. In addition to these time-saving benefits, templates can act as a reminder to ensure more complete care while helping standardize data capture.
What is a master patient index MPI and how is it used?
A Master Patient Index (MPI) aims to identify individual patients by storing and analyzing demographic information and assigning a unique identifier to that person . ... This is done by storing information such as name, date of birth, gender, etc., and assigning everyone a unique identifier.
