SENS. BANKS, WARNER INTRODUCE BILL TO ELIMINATE MEDICAL ERRORS AND REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Sen. Jim Banks issued the following press release:

Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Patient Matching in Certified Health IT (MATCH IT) Act, bipartisan legislation that would improve patient identification and health record matching. According to the American Health Information Management Association, patient-matching errors cost the average hospital $2.5 million and the U.S. healthcare system nearly $7 billion annually. The MATCH IT Act would standardize patients' demographic data entered into electronic health records to reduce misidentification and help eliminate medical errors and waste.

Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.): "Patient matching errors are a hidden tax on the healthcare system. Th...