Proposed National Patient Matching Framework Dramatically Increases Health Exchange Partner Match Rates

MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwired - Nov 10, 2015) - The Sequoia Project and the Care Connectivity Consortium (CCC) today announced the results of a multi-year effort to examine best practices for patient matching for health information exchange partners. The whitepaper, entitled A Framework for Cross-Organizational Patient Identity Management, is a multi-part document that features a real-world case study that increased successful match rates among exchange partners from 10% to greater than 95%. The paper also includes a proposed matching maturity model and specific practices for a national patient matching framework, now open to public comment.

"Patient matching continues to be one of the largest impediments to nationwide health data sharing," said Eric Heflin, chief technology officer for The Sequoia Project and co-author of the paper. "Right now, many care organizations are experiencing match rates that are far too low -- reducing effectiveness of care, increasing costs, and impacting the patient experience. We need an approach that delivers the best possible means to match patients, and the paper released today clearly illustrates that it's possible and within reach, even without a curated national identifier."

The paper is available now on The Sequoia Project website, and all organizations with an interest in patient matching are encouraged to review the materials and provide feedback during the public comment period that will end on January 22, 2016.

The Sequoia Project will also be hosting an introductory webinar on December 1, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Online registration is open now to sign up for the webinar.

"Patient matching is a complex issue and this paper will spur a constructive national dialogue," said Mariann Yeager, chief executive officer of The Sequoia Project. "It will also provide CXO's an actionable framework for methodically assessing and improving patient matching among exchange partners. There are low-effort, high-yield strategies we can implement today to dramatically increase cross-organization matching, while on the road to ever improving patient outcomes."

"CHIME has been at the forefront of advocating for a national patient identifier, which our members believe is essential to advance patient safety and improved quality of care," said Russell Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO, president and CEO of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). "The Sequoia Project framework highlights the importance patient identification plays in such issues as patient safety and interoperability. The framework is an important step in the push towards achieving the goal of 100 percent patient identification."

The full paper, including details about the study and the proposed framework for how to implement the findings nationally, are available for public use and comment at the Sequoia Project website.

About The Sequoia Project

The Sequoia Project is a non-profit 501c3 chartered to advance implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange. The Sequoia Project supports multiple, independent health IT interoperability initiatives, most notably: the eHealth Exchange, a rapidly growing community of exchange partners who share information under a common trust framework and a common set of rules; and Carequality, a public-private collaborative effort to build consensus among existing data sharing networks regarding technical specifications and best practices, much like the telecommunications industry did for linking cell phone networks. For more information about The Sequoia Project and its initiatives, visit www.sequoiaproject.org. Follow The Sequoia Project on Twitter: @SequoiaProject.

About the Care Connectivity Consortium

The Care Connectivity Consortium is an interoperability collaboration working to improve and advance the technology available for comprehensive, secure, reliable and innovative electronic health information exchange across the country. Comprised of five pioneers in the use of electronic medical records for their patients -- Geisinger Health System, Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, Intermountain Healthcare and OCHIN -- the Care Connectivity Consortium has a clear vision that the same benefits of the full medical information that exists in each of the organizations' EHR systems should be extended to all patients by connecting all communities and the nation in order to improve health care for all Americans. The Care Connectivity Consortium is committed to building toward a future where timely access to health information results in patient-centered, community-wide, evidence-based care. For more information about the Care Connectivity Consortium: www.careconnectivity.org.