RAND Unique ID Study

“Identity Crisis:  An Examination of the Costs and Benefits of a Unique Patient Identifier for the U.S. Health Care System”

Richard Hillestad, et. al., Oct. 2008, RAND Corporation Monograph # 753

This is a 'classic' 60 page analysis of the problems encountered by EMPI matching systems when attempting to identify individuals in large popluations using demographic matching.  It examines technical issues with EMPI matching and includes financial impact analyses.  It includes an analysis of the anticipated benefits that would accrue from implementation of a unique patient identifier.  It also looks at how additional data elements can be used to improve the accuracy of patient matching across large populations.