The master patient index (MPI) gives you access to patient information, which results in significant benefits for patients and health care providers. Justify the function of a master patient index. Discuss how the master patient index is an important resource in the health care facility.How does the MPI affect the following systems within the health care organization? In ClinicalManagement, Appointments, and Security
Function
MPI, an electronic medical record system: computerized version of the traditional paper model utilized to store the medical information of the patient. It is characterized by an ordered format that allows or eliminates all the medical records of the patients, and allows a quick documentation and retrieval of visits of the patients accurately. The system identifies the patients encountered at the healthcare facilities. It has the responsibility to administer the used and generated health information appropriately, assists in the decision-making, healthcare services management, and its delivery. Its function is fostered in sub-national and national levels based on the analysis information necessary explicitly.
Importance
Consequently, in the reorganization of healthcare through alliances, mergers, and acquisitions, healthcare facilities merged MPIs accurately. The MPI is the most significant resource in the healthcare facility; it linked tracking patients, people, or member activities in the organization or enterprise, and in the patient care settings. The MPI is necessary to match the persons’ registered records for care accurately; minimize any duplication in the facility or across the patient care setting, facilitates in merging MPIs to create an enterprise MPIs, links with the clinical pharmacies, repositories, and laboratories outside, and facilitates access to lifetime records of the patients. In addition, MPI index patients, physicians, members of the healthcare plans, healthcare practitioners, guarantors, employers, employees, or persons. The MPIs is also known as enterprise master patient index or EMPI, enterprise patient index or EPI, or corporate person index or CPI.
Influence
The MPIs influenced the systems in the healthcare organization such as in clinical management, appointments, and security. An effective channel of information and communication exchange among hospitals, physicians, and the patients emerged through the patient portals. These patient portals are key element of the organization providers that used useful and accurate techniques; however, their services at times are hindered by some issues shared by hospitals in majority, the nation-duplicate records of the patients. These duplicates hindered the full utilization of the portals, lessen the access of the technology, and increased the resources needed to support the majority. The hindrances have great impact to the investment of the facility, and the satisfactions of the patrons. However, the generation or creation of PMIs and its strategic assistance eliminates the duplication of records of the patients. In addition, it enhanced the access of the portals. Most of the healthcare organizations invested in information technology or IT, and no longer remain primitives in terms of its healthcare services in the community. In fact, IT helps improve the quality of healthcare, and facilitates good results in the healthcare services globally. Particularly, PMIs improved the quality of healthcare services; the clinical management became more systematic, the staffs and healthcare providers served the patients with satisfaction, and patients have the full access and duplication-free of the records that promotes safety to the persons involved in the system in general.
Reference
AHIMA MPI Task Force. (1997, September). Practice Brief: : Merging Master Patient Indexes.
Chicago, IL. Retrieved from http://sce.umkc.edu/~leeyu/Mahi/medical-data6.pdf.
Bates, D. W. (2002, October 23). The quality case for information technology in healthcare.
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making , 2 (7), pp. 1-8. doi:10.1186/1472-6947-2-7. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/2/7.
International Federation of Health Information Management Associations. (2012). Education
Module for Health Record Practice: Module 2 - Patient Identification, Registration and the Master Patient Index. Retrieved from http://www.ifhima.org/ed_modules/Updated%202012/Module2%20Patient%20Identification%20Registration%20and%20the%20Master%20Patient%20Index.pdf.
Reeves, M., Dixon, A., & Just, B. H. (2012, May 21). How Clean MPIs Can Enhance the Patient
Portal Experience. Retrieved from http://healthcare-executive-insight.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/A-Positive-Side-Effect-How-Clean-MPIs-Can-Enhance-the-Patient-Portal-Experience.aspx.
