Improving interoperability — the ability of healthcare organizations to exchange patient data across different electronic health record systems—continues to be one of the toughest challenges facing health information exchanges across the country. This situation is often exacerbated by patients who often share their identify in different ways with different healthcare providers. Identifying and matching patient data adds to the complexity of data exchange.

The inconsistencies in the way patient demographic data is captured can lead to duplicative or mismatched health records. This can have adverse clinical and financial consequences—reduced quality of care or delays in care for patients,increased hospital re-admissions, and unnecessary healthcare spending.