Last year, the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medicine began taking photos of patients in outpatient clinics for staff and clinicians to use as an identifier. Now, UR Medicine is rolling out the patient picture program in its primary care practices, the Democrat & Chronicle reports.
Mary Jo Marlowe, director of patient access at UR Medical Center, told the Democrat the pictures will reduce the risk of misidentifying a patient, especially one the staff hasn't seen in a while, and enhance patient safety.
"If the patient's photo has already been taken by another department, it actually adds a level of security… that the patient presenting is who they say they are and when they show their insurance card we are certain that this is exactly who they are," Ms. Marlow said, according to the report.
Although well-intentioned, taking a patient's picture for their medical record can be off-putting if not explained beforehand, according to the report.
For example, Dayno Muoio of Irondequoit, N.Y., was recently checking in at a UR Medicine physician office and when she went to turn her paperwork into the desk, the receptionist said she was going to take her picture right then and there.
"I agreed and went along with it," Ms. Muoio told the Democrat. "I would have appreciated a little bit more information as to what it would be used for. Even if they asked for my permission first before taking it would have been nice. I didn't sign a consent form, I wasn't asked if I was OK with it. It was 'OK, we need to do this now' and that was it."
Ms. Muoio also said she had some privacy concerns after she glimpsed another person's photo on the camera used by the receptionist. To put patients at ease, she suggested patients be informed of the picture when they schedule an appointment.
Angela Rose, director of health information management practice excellence at American Health Information Management Association, agrees that patients should be informed of the picture and told how it is used, according to the report.
"Understand the purpose of the picture," Ms. Rose told the Democrat. "'Oh, this will help identify and verify who you are every time you come see us.' That's something the consumer should know."
More articles on patient identifiers:
Identity crisis: Solving patient matching woes for payers
Joint Commission releases patient identifier educational infographic, video and podcast
Unique patient ID startup CrossChx raises $15M