Evaluation of the risk of misidentification of women in a public maternity hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of similar names and hospital records of women in a public teaching maternity hospital and the risk of misidentification resulting from the similarity in spelling and pronunciation of the names and in records. Method: Quantitative, documental and case study of 5,975 admissions that occurred between 2011 and 2014. The data name, admission and discharge date, date of birth, hospital record and bed number were collected from an electronic information system. Analysis encompassed descriptive statistics and design of an algorithm for comparison of text and sound. Results: Examination of the names revealed that 86% of the misidentification cases resulted from identical surnames and 96.5% from a sound similarity in the first names. There were patients with identical first and last names at least one day a week. Conclusion: The risk of misidentification of patients is a reality, which stresses the importance of checking and pronouncing the complete names correctly.

Identificação do paciente nos registros dos profissionais de saúde

“…Although this fact is worrisome, the disclosure of research aimed at a broader and specific understanding of the professionals' practices regarding the theme of correct patient identification -such as the completion of headers in the clinical history forms -is incipient. (14) Nevertheless, it has been evidenced that this reality of insecurity for the patient is not restricted to the region investigated, as other Brazilian and international studies (15)(16)(17)(18) have identified it.…”

“…(16) It was also observed during the investigation of medication-related incidents at a Brazilian university hospital that 8.1% of the errors in drug therapy presented the patient's inadequate identification as the root cause. (18) In a Brazilian obstetric health unit, researchers (17) reported that 81.9% of the hospitalized women had the first names with identical spelling and/ or phonetic similarities, a situation that poses a patient safety risk if no actions are implemented for the sake of correct patient identification.…”

Patient Identification Techniques – Approaches, Implications, and Findings

“…Referential matching software is a data augmentation where a third-party service provider adds an additional layer of demographic data (typically from outside of healthcare) including datasets from credit reporting and public utilities that are routinely updated and maintained to enhance patient matching [31]. Companies involved in such technologies report match rates as high as 98 and 100%, however such rates have not been independently verified [31,40]. Concerns have been raised that referential matching could lead to clinicians and payers having access to personal and financial information, including credit information.…”

Addressing the identity crisis in healthcare: positive patient identification technology reduces wrong patient events

“…Searches of hospital databases find about one in 3000 registrations can be matched to another patient with an identical first name, last name, and date of birth . A similar search of identical first and last names on maternity wards found a match once per week …”

“…14 A similar search of identical first and last names on maternity wards found a match once per week. 15 In 2007, the World Health Organization suggested that implementation of automated systems could decrease identification errors. 16 Electronic positive patient identification (ePPID) is an automated system that typically requires a barcoded employee badge, a barcoded patient wristband, handheld computers or barcode scanners, label printers capable of generating barcodes that can be read by the laboratory instrumentation, an electronic test ordering system, application software, and electronic interfaces.…”