CHICAGO – March 24, 2021 – Patient ID Now, a coalition of leading healthcare organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Intermountain Healthcare and Premier Healthcare Alliance, is hosting a virtual Patient ID Day on Wednesday, March 24.

The coalition is bringing attention to the critical challenges of patient misidentification that afflict the country’s health system. Failure to accurately identify patients to their data raises patient safety and quality of care concerns, and those concerns have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. An archaic section of the federal budget has prevented the US Department of Health and Human Services from working with the private sector to develop a nationwide patient identification strategy, and today member organizations of the coalition are highlighting this issue to Capitol Hill and on social media.

The push to repeal this ban within the federal budget has gained steam in the past two years, and leadership from Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11) and Rep. Mike Kelly (PA-3) has resulted in the ban being lifted twice in the US House of Representatives’ Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bills. The US Senate has not yet followed suit to address the dire issue of patient misidentification, leaving the health system without a comprehensive, nationwide strategy to protect patients and ensure accurate health information.

Patient ID Now’s outreach efforts underscore the impact of patient misidentification on the country’s health system and patients during the pandemic–from lost COVID-19 test results, to mismatched vaccination information, to duplicative tests. Follow the coalition’s efforts on Twitter (@PatientidN) or through the hashtag #patientIDnow.

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About Patient ID Now
Patient ID Now is a coalition of healthcare organizations representing a wide range of healthcare stakeholders committed to advancing through legislation and regulations a nationwide strategy to address patient identification. Founding members include the American College of Surgeons, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS), Intermountain Healthcare and Premier Healthcare Alliance.