The report surveyed 502 top-level healthcare executives and providers spanning the United States.
Here are five thoughts:
1. Patient misidentification’s primary cause is incorrectly identifying patients during registration.
2. Most respondents (64 percent) said patient identification errors occur frequently or all the time at typical healthcare facilities. The report authors note the industry has between an 8 percent and 10 percent patient misidentification rate, which likely under-represents the issue.
3. Clinicians waste 28.2 minutes per shift, on average, trying to find patients’ correct medical records.
4. Most providers (86 percent) said they have either witnessed or have known of an instance where patient misidentification led to a medical error.
5. The report noted the average hospital loses $17.4 million annual in denial claims resulting from misidentification.
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