Opinion: The House has OK’d a unique patient identifier. Here’s what should happen next
It isn’t every day that the House of Representatives takes bipartisan action to reverse a policy that’s been in place for two decades. But that’s what happened last month, when Democrats and Republicans alike voted for a measure designed to address a perennial problem that undermines medical record-keeping, puts patients at risk, and costs our health care system billions of dollars every year.
Specifically, the House voted to repeal a 21-year ban on funding for a national patient identifier — a unique number or code comparable to a Social Security number that would be assigned to each and every American. As envisioned, this identifier would make it easier for health care providers to access accurate medical records anywhere, anytime — whether the patient is making a routine office visit in Boston or lying unconscious in a San Francisco emergency room.
