https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230117110414.htm

"The value of data standardization is well recognized. There are national healthcare provider IDs. There are facility IDs and object identifiers. There are billing codes. There are standard vocabularies for healthcare lab test results and medical observations -- such as LOINC® here at Regenstrief. Patient identity is the last gaping hole in our health infrastructure," said Dr. Grannis. "We are providing a framework to evaluate patient matching algorithms for accuracy.

"We recognize that the need for patient matching is not going away and that we need standardized methods to uniquely identify patients," said Dr. Grannis. "Current patient matching algorithms come in many different flavors, shapes and sizes. To be able to compare how one performs against the other, or even to understand how they might interact together, we have to have a standard way of assessment. We have produced a novel, robust framework for consistent and reproducible evaluation. Simply put, the framework we've developed at Regenstrief provides a 'measuring stick' for the effectiveness of patient matching tools."