Dr Karen B. DeSalvo Discusses the Importance of Patient Matching

One of the challenges of having interoperable healthcare systems includes perfecting patient matching so the right information connects with the right consumer, according to Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, who stepped down Thursday as national coordinator for health information technology to take another position with HHS.

Patient matching may seem like mundane work, but it is critically important, and the industry is now very close to having an algorithm that will help identify if information like a problem list or medication list is matched with the right person.

“This is a safety issue, this is a privacy issue, this is a convenience issue, and a challenge that, as a country, we need to solve, so that we get it right,” Dr DeSalvo said.