The Sequoia Project, a nonprofit focused on healthcare interoperability, released an updated national framework for patient matching June 12.
The framework outlines best practices for patient matching between healthcare organizations and health information exchange partners. The recommendations for improved patient identity management were developed by the The Sequoia Project's Patient Identity Management Workgroup, which comprised stakeholders from academia, industry and government, through a multiyear effort.
"If we can standardize, in practice, how EMRs and [health information organizations] leverage existing standards, we will increase patient match rates dramatically even in the absence of having a national unique patient identifier," Eric Heflin, chief technology officer of The Sequoia Project and lead author of the framework, said in a June 12 statement.
To access The Sequoia Project's framework, click here.