Ask ECRI: Concerns about Patient Identification and Medical Identity Theft

​A risk manager recently inquired about situations in which a patient's identity is in question when care is being provided. The risk manager notes that multiple concerns may arise in these situations, including steps that the organization must take to ensure correct patient identification.

In our response, ECRI Institute notes that this concern arises frequently because patients may try to "share" insurance, or they may seek additional medications, registering under different names to do so. It is often difficult to...