As organizations are sharing more and more health information electronically, the need for improved patient identification and matching across organizations has become clear. In September, we announced a dedicated initiative to assess what’s working well and where there are gaps, and to explore possible ways patient matching could be improved. Those initial findings from our current efforts will be discussed at a meeting here in Washington, D.C. on December 16, 2013.

The findings we will be discussing on the 16^th are built on the feedback and information gathered during the environmental scan, informed by an extensive literature review of past patient matching work and reports, and built on previous work of ONC and others – including a whitepaper developed with the Regenstrief Institute in 2009, ONC’s Health IT Policy Committee recommendations, and the S&I Framework Initiative.

The Patient Matching Stakeholder Meeting will be December 16th 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST at Patriot Plaza III, 355 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. There is limited space available for in-person attendance, but it is also possible to attend via phone/webinar.

Registration for the in-person meeting is available on a space available basis – Proceed to register now.

As there will be limited space, all interested participants must register using this link. We will also be streaming the meeting live; if you are interested in this option, please still do register and you will be sent the streaming information.  Please note that if registration is filled, we will direct remaining interested participants to the streaming meeting.

The agenda will include:

• Updates on the recent industry environmental scan on patient identification and matching, conducted by Audacious Inquiry on behalf of ONC;
• Sharing of an independent assessment for improving patient matching rates, derived from input from a wide range of stakeholders;
• Interactive discussions around emerging ideas to improve the processes of data collection, data validation, and other ways to help ensure accurate patient identification and matching, as electronic exchange of health information increases across the country; and
• Opportunities for all sectors to provide further feedback, including: large and small health care organizations, software and hardware health IT vendors, federal agencies, patient safety and privacy advocates, associations, and state and regional health information organizations.

There is limited space available for the in-person meeting, but we hope as many people as possible participate either in-person, or remotely, and provide feedback to help inform the next steps for the patient identification and matching initiative. Information about hotel options is available on the registration form and registration for the webinar/conference line will be available shortly.