GAO’s latest report on patient matching: It’s still not easy

A new report by the Government Accountability Office highlights the difficulty of accurately matching patient records in electronic health records (EHRs). Mistakenly matched records can lead to incorrect care and privacy breaches, while records for the same patient not matched can hinder proper care. Suggestions for improving patient record matching include implementing common standards, sharing best practices, and developing a public-private collaboration. The report emphasizes the importance of accurate record matching for health information exchange, as studies have found that as few as 50% of records are accurately matched during exchange.