Which identifiers are specifically cited as important for patient matching in Care Everywhere?

• A. SSN only
• B. MRN and national IDs
• C. Phone numbers
• D. Passport numbers

Answer: (B)

In Care Everywhere, the goal of patient matching is to reliably link records belonging to the same person across different organizations. That relies on identifiers that are stable and unique across systems. The combination of the facility’s Medical Record Number (MRN) and a national patient identifier provides that cross-system linkage: the MRN uniquely identifies a patient within a specific organization, while a national ID helps connect records when the patient appears at different providers. This pairing reduces duplicates and misidentification during cross-site exchanges.

Other identifiers like SSN, phone numbers, or passport numbers are less reliable for broad matching. SSN is sensitive and not consistently captured or shared across systems. Phone numbers can change frequently and are not unique to a person. Passport numbers are not standard identifiers used for routine patient matching in healthcare.