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View All ProductsWe understand the critical importance of earning and maintaining your patients' trust in the delivery of exceptional sedation and surgical outcomes. As a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to empowering you in promoting safer, more successful outcomes for each and every patient, without exception.
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View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreBy Martha Crombie, Contributing Writer, HealthStream
You never know what you’ll learn over sushi. I had lunch recently with a former colleague, and he asked me what I was working on. I told him I was writing an article about positive patient identification using biometric identification to prevent duplicate patient records and medical errors.
Registration by Hand…or Hand scan?
My research revealed that current state-of-the-art technology relies on either facial recognition or scans of the vein pattern in the patient’s hand, the latter believed to be more reliable than a thumbprint. For providers lacking the budget to invest in the latest technology, CMS requires the use of a master patient index (MPI) that employs patient-matching algorithms to detect duplicates. The algorithms rely on basic information like a patient’s first and last name, date of birth, gender, and other attributes (e.g., zip code, telephone number, the last four digits of the Social Security number).
Registrar Training
At a minimum, registration clerks should be trained on patient entry practices across all entry points (e.g., ER, inpatient, clinic, phone, internet). They must be required to look up every patient in the MPI before creating a new record. The MPI prompts the registrar to review potential matches in the existing database.
Today’s Tech or Star Trek?
Because my friend works for one of the largest tech companies in the world, I asked whether his company was working on biometric identification. His eyes lit up. He described a system that sounded more like something from Star Trek.
“Imagine,” he said, “that you go to an emergency department on a Saturday evening because you fell off a ladder and you’re having back pain. As it is now, you or a friend or family member would need to go to the registration desk to sign in and provide a photo ID. You’d probably be asked to sit in the waiting room until you could be seen by a triage nurse. The nurse would record your vital signs, ask you a few questions about your condition, and determine whether you should be categorized as a high-priority patient or wait your turn.”
Anyone reading this post knows this process is universally loathed by ER patients! All of us, when we go to a hospital emergency department, believe we should be tended to immediately. After all, it’s an emergency!
Warp Speed?
My friend continued: “Fast forward to a day when all emergency departments are outfitted with technology that can accurately identify every individual using biometrics, but identification is just the beginning. You walk up to the desk, and a scanner confirms your identity via facial recognition—no need to show your ID. At the same time, the system pulls up your consolidated medical records. Instant access to your records gives the triage nurse valuable information about your medical history, including drug allergies and pre-existing medical conditions. This saves valuable time.”
From Identification to Diagnostic Support
“When you’re seen by the ER doctor, he or she already knows who you are, has your medical history, current prescriptions and your current symptoms and vital signs. Because you have back pain, your doctor must assess your need for pain medication.”
“Suppose the doctor has already seen two patients on this shift, both addicted to pain medication, who frequent the ER. The doctor is already on alert for signs of addiction. The same facial recognition system used to identify you and pull up your medical record has also scanned your facial expressions, speech patterns, your gait, and other factors in your physical presentation. The new scanning technology uses algorithms to assess these factors to measure your pain level with a high degree of accuracy. As a result, the physician now has evidence that you have a very high level of pain and will prescribe medication to make you more comfortable.”
I tell my friend this technology will be a game changer! This single system not only facilitates positive patient identification and prevents duplicate health records; it also enables timely and appropriate treatment, minimizes drug interactions, and facilitates appropriate matching of pain treatment to pain level. My friend couldn’t say how soon this new technology will be available, but he assured me it’s in progress.
As my thoughts return to Star Trek, I urged him on, saying, “Warp speed, Mr. Sulu!”
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsUtilize patient access solutions and advanced reimbursement solutions to manage clinical denials and improve your organization’s reimbursement strategy.
View All ReimbursementExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ProductsUnlocking the full potential of clinicians goes beyond aspiration – it’s a commitment we embody. Our competency development solutions help personalize learning for every clinician so you can confidently bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents while meeting the unique development needs of your seasoned clinician.
View All ProductsEnhance maternal & child nursing care with solutions focused on improving the quality of care for mothers, infants, and children.
View All ProductsAddress staffing challenges, standardize orientation and onboarding, and deliver an effective training program for your team to easily achieve and maintain certification with our critical, emergency, and acute care solutions.
View All ProductsWe understand the critical importance of earning and maintaining your patients' trust in the delivery of exceptional sedation and surgical outcomes. As a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to empowering you in promoting safer, more successful outcomes for each and every patient, without exception.
View All ProductsOur solutions are meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations. Within this innovative framework, we have curated specialized subsets of solutions aimed at addressing the ever-evolving challenges faced by individuals dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsComprehensive, industry-leading provider onboarding and credentialing software that validate health outcomes and support provider assessment.
View All CredentialingOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All Products