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The Health Information Management Systems Society is asking its members to lobby Congress for a "nationwide patient identity solution" to improve accuracy of patient medical records and reduce errors traced to misidentification.

HIMSS says the problem stems from a 1999 statutory prohibition on developing a "unique health identifier" for patients until a federal law authorizing national standards passes. No such standard exists now.

"Patient-data mismatches remain a significant problem," HIMSS says in its recommendation to Congress. Industry groups estimate that 8 percent to 14 percent of medical records include erroneous information tied to patient identity error, an expensive and potentially dangerous problem to correct, according to the recommendation.

"A technologically advanced nationwide patient identity solution does not mean that every system has to use the same patient identity method but, rather, means national standards and solutions that can be used for exchanging information across systems," HIMSS says.

Health insurance exchanges, large health plans and electronic health record vendors have come up with their own patient ID systems, but there's little to no interoperability, says HIMSS, a Chicago-based not-for-profit advocacy group for health IT and information systems.

"Patient safety, privacy and security depend on getting this core element right, and soon," concludes HIMSS.