4medica to make the case for safer patient matching to nation's HIEs at SHIEC conference

MARINA DEL REY, Calif, Aug. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- When health information exchanges (HIEs) converge at the upcoming SHIEC 2018 Annual Conference in Atlanta, August 19-22, one topic that will be front and center is how to effectively and safely match patient identities in environments where millions of records are continuously being exchanged. The answer, according to 4medica, doesn't lie in hyped up, unproven solutions like Blockchain, or political minefields such as assigning a government-issued patient ID.

Instead, company leaders will advise, use the newly scalable master patient index technologies that are now matching patient data to the right records at unprecedented speed and precision.

Two of 4medica's customers, The Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) and New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), will discuss such solutions on the panel, "Overcoming Patient Matching Challenges in Today's Healthcare Environment," on the first full day of the conference, Monday, August 20, from 2:40 to 3:30 P.M. Presenters from the two organizations will include Shelley Mannino-Marosi, Associate Director, MiHIN; and John Novak, Senior Director of Healthcare Delivery Systems, NJII.

"Patient matching is a critical issue facing healthcare data exchange, and we're pleased to offer a session at the conference in Atlanta that will feature the challenges and best practices in patient matching," said Kelly Hoover Thompson, SHIEC CEO.  

Both 4medica customers also spoke on the topic of patient matching at the recent ONC Interoperability Forum in Washington, D.C.

"It is becoming clearer by the day that state PDMP programs, the national patient-centered daa home, and other HIE initiatives centered around sensitive patient issues and data urgently require highly accurate and real time patient matching," noted Gregg Church, 4medica president.

He added, "Our own customers are discovering that a scalable, accurate master patient index does exist that improves patient safety and privacy. We're looking forward to introducing this strategy to more HIEs at the SHIEC conference. There has never been a more relevant time to do so."

Blockchain, national patient ID not viable solutions for patient matching

Lack of a national patient ID has historically been the chief barrier to reliable patient matching, and one that has proven to be near politically impossible to overcome. But Church pointed out that even this obstacle has been cleared.

"4medica has the technology now to generate a unique, 4everID™ that is recognized across different systems. That's something a blockchain-assigned ID can't do," Church said.

For organizations that have developed their own common patient identifiers, 4medica's master patient index solution, the 4medica Big Data MPI, can be used independently of its 4everID solution. The Big Data MPI uses technology similar to Google search, which in turn results in accurate patient matches in milliseconds.

Here again, Blockchain cannot authentically make the same claim. When patient data comes in, either a person or solution like the 4medica Big Data MPI is required to match it to the right record. However, as a distributed ledger, Blockchain could conceivably one day be used to update these records with new data as it comes in—but only after it is matched to the right patient identity.  Church expanded on these and other points in a recent article on blockchain and patient matching in Healthcare IT News.

Meet 4medica at SHIEC, enter to win Indy 500 tickets and $100 Visa gift cards

Additionally, 4medica will be exhibiting at the SHIEC conference, with executives on hand to meet with interested healthcare organizations about pairing master patient indexes with unique patient IDs that are recognizable across different systems. Company leaders, including Church, will be at the 4medica Booth #35 during exhibit hall hours. Booth visitors will have an opportunity to enter to win some exciting prizes, including free tickets to the Indy 500 and $100 Visa gift cards.

4medica also plans to announce the results of its "State of Patient Matching in HIEs" survey at the conference. HIEs can still respond to the 10-question survey and enter to win a $100 Gift Card. Survey respondents are also invited to stop by the 4medica booth to pick up a free Starbucks card. Take the survey here.

Members of the media interested in learning more about patient identity matching, or who wish to speak to 4medica executives at the 2018 SHIEC Annual Conference, may contact Stephanie Janard at [email protected] or 828-288-2831.

About 4medica
4medica provides the industry's leading SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) Big Data MPI and clinical data exchange platform to help healthcare organizations of diverse types create a seamless view of the patient care experience and further drive better health outcomes. The 4medica Big Data MPI and ClinXdata Clinical Data Exchange platform integrate with and build upon disparate systems to facilitate patient identity management and interoperable data exchange across various care settings to promote care continuity. The cloud computing model is scalable, lower cost, maintenance-free, easy to use and deployable in a few months or less, eliminating large capital outlays or resource utilization. 4medica connects hundreds of organizations including ACOS, HIEs, hospitals, health systems, physicians, laboratories, and radiology imaging centers. Learn more at www.4medica.com and www.bigdatampi.com.

Media Contact: 

Stephanie Janard
Amendola Communications for 4medica
828.288.2831 or [email protected]

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