Dates of Project: Mid-April 2011 through July 2013
Researchers at Western Health Information Network, along with an independent evaluation team at Durkin & Assoc., demonstrated the technical feasibility of using a voluntary universal health care identifier card to link each person with their health record.
Description: The Western Health Information Network team trained staff at one health care provider organization to issue voluntary universal healthcare identifier numbers to patients, and then tracked adoption and use of the identifier cards. They also assessed the perceptions of clinic staff who registered patients for the card, as well as the perceptions of the patients themselves. Evaluators Stacie Durkin, RN, MBA, of Durkin & Associates, worked with Stephen M. Davidson, PhD, of the Boston University School of Management, to harvest key lessons from the project.