In a letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding the proposed 21st Century Cures legislation, CHIME said the most significant challenge to safe and secure electronic exchange of health information is the lack of a consistent patient identification strategy.
The letter indicates that the industry requires consistency in accurately identifying patients if it wants to advance toward a nationwide health information exchange.
"As data exchange increases among providers, patient data matching errors and mismatches will become exponentially more dangerous and costly," CHIME wrote.
However, CHIME indicated it is not seeking a golden bullet solution to fix this issue, as one does not exist.
"A consistent strategy does not mean a single technology or solution, but an approach that will facilitate the realization of the full benefits of cost savings of nationwide health information exchange while protecting patient safety and privacy," read the letter.
Additionally, CHIME has asked Congress in the letter to remove any regulations or language that prevents federal regulators from developing standards to aid patient identification.
"With the removal of the outdated prohibition, we believe then that the nation can experience robust information exchange and interoperability," the letter read.
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