Mistakes can happen. But, in healthcare, how often do medical errors related to patient misidentification occur and at what cost? According to recent research by ECRI and other organizations, an alarmingly high percentage of medical errors stem from wrong patient identification and 9% of those errors result in a wide range of negative patient outcomes from temporary patient harm to actual loss of life. For patients, it’s a gamble they neither intend – nor want – to make.

Lexington, Mass. – October 12, 2016—Imprivata®, the healthcare IT security company, today announced that Adventist Health System (AHS), one of the largest faith-based healthcare systems in the nation, has deployed Imprivata PatientSecure® to strengthen patient safety by ensuring each patient is correctly linked to their unique electronic medical record with the goal of eliminating duplicate patient medical records.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to join the best and brightest of the NHS, many of who are Imprivata customers, at the ehi Awards gala in London. In a time when NHS funds are limited and efficiency gains – clinical and operational – are needed, these finalists represent those that have gone above and beyond to deliver the highest quality care and drive new innovative ways to deliver the right information to the right care provider at the right time in a patient’s journey.