Patient misidentification can lead to significant consequences for hospitals, including medical errors, duplicate medical records, reduced clinical productivity and revenue loss, according to an Imprivata-sponsored study by the Ponemon Institute entitled "The 2016 National Patient Misidentification Report."
For the study, the Ponemon Institute surveyed 503 healthcare executives and care providers nationwide. Participants included nurses, physicians and IT practitioners, as well as CFOs and others in financial operations.
Here are seven survey findings.
1. Eighty-four percent of survey respondents strongly agree or agree that misidentifying a patient can lead to medical errors or adverse events.
2. Sixty-three percent of survey respondents said the primary root cause of patient misidentification is incorrect identification of patients at registration.
3. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents said a patient is misidentified in a "typical" healthcare facility very frequently or all the time. According to 68 percent of survey respondents, the inability to find a patient's chart or medical record is among the errors that are very common in most healthcare facilities.
4. The survey found clinicians on average waste 28.2 minutes per shift searching for correct medical records for patients
5. Eighty-six percent of providers have witnessed or have known of a medical error due to patient misidentification.
6. On average, hospitals have 30 percent of claims denied and an average of 35 percent of these denied claims are attributed to inaccurate patient identification or inaccurate/incomplete patient information.
7. The average hospital loses $17.4 million per year in denied claims resulting from patient misidentification.