All of the economic talk that is so prevalent now and has been for the past two years has intersected with the healthcare reform debates in various ways, but one increasingly concerning event should be focused on. Hospitals are closing. The Wall Street Journal highlighted St. Vincent’s Hospital in NYC closing earlier this month. St. Vincent’s was the last Catholic acute-care center in New York City:

Patients and residents of the Greenwhich Village neighborhood said the closing…meant they would have to travel dozens of blocks on New York City’s congested streets to the nearest emergency room…Staff at other city hospitals, many already inundated with uninsured patients coming into their emergency rooms, were bracing for more people…Patient volume at Bellevue Hospital, a city trauma and acute care center, has jumped 13% in the past 30 days. (WSJ: Hospital Closing Stirs Fear)

The result of one hospital closing means increased ambulance ride times, increased demand for government funding for the remaining hospitals, increased hours for the staff.

What do you think it means for patient safety?

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NY Times: St. Vincent's

Google “Hospitals Closing”

EP Monthly

There is an implicit and global challenge facing HIE and impeding its success: patient identification. Hospital and ambulatory systems need a standard but unique way of identifying a patient outside of name/DOB/etc. or account number. The ability to accurately identify one patient among thousands, perhaps millions, many of whom share similar identifying data is a complex problem. Beyond existing similarities there exists human error. Juxtaposing numbers in a birth date, misspelling a name, nicknames, and a lack of standard entry procedures can all create massive problems when trying to find just one person in a huge system. And this is within one health system, its hospitals and ambulatory centers.

The key is a universally accepted Enterprise Master Person Index (EMPI). An EMPI is patient information and linking system designed to accurately identify individuals using common data elements such as health card number, medical record number, date of birth and other demographic information. (Lorraine Fernandes). The EMPI application identifies people in an integrated delivery network across disparate registration, scheduling, financial, and clinical systems. (AHIMA). This identifying system is the solution to the patient identification problem and essential to healthcare information exchange. In addition to allowing a smooth transition, EMPI also promotes and enhances patient safety. By utilizing this identification method healthcare providers can cut down on errors, duplications, missing information, and more.

In the most recent data we can find 40.65% of all hospitals are utilizing an EMPI and the percentages increase for academic hospitals, urban hospitals, and multi-hospital systems.

Is your EMPI working to solve the HIE dilemma?

More Reading:

Healthcare Technology: Partners EMPI

White Paper: EMPI Provides a Critical Foundation for Improving Access to Care

Patient Identification a Crucial Aspect of Patient Safety