[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7379 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7379

   To amend title XXX of the Public Health Service Act to establish 
          standards and protocols to improve patient matching.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2024

 Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Foster) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
  Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XXX of the Public Health Service Act to establish 
          standards and protocols to improve patient matching.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Patient Matching And Transparency in 
Certified Health IT Act of 2024'' or the ``MATCH IT Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Ensuring accurate patient identification and matching 
        is key to achieving the interoperability within the health care 
        system called for by Congress in the 21st Century Cures Act and 
        the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical 
        Health (HITECH) Act.
            (2) There is currently no national strategy to ensure 
        patients are accurately matched with their medical records.
            (3) There is no standard definition across the health care 
        system of ``patient match rate'' to ensure the ability to 
        accurately measure patient matches and patient 
        misidentification.
            (4) The patient match rates that are available can vary 
        widely, with an estimate from CHIME noting that matching within 
        facilities can be as low as 80 percent-meaning that one out of 
        every five patients may not be matched to all his or her 
        records.
            (5) Patient misidentification within the United States 
        health care system is a threat to patient safety, patient 
        privacy, and a driver of unnecessary costs to patients and 
        providers.
            (6) The inability of clinicians to ensure patients are 
        accurately matched with their medical record has caused medical 
        errors, and even lives lost. Patient misidentification has been 
        named a recurrent patient safety challenge in multiple years by 
        ECRI.
            (7) Patients must undergo unnecessary repeated medical 
        tests because of the inability to ensure accurate matches to 
        their medical record.
            (8) The expense of repeated medical care due to duplicate 
        records costs an average of $1,950 per patient inpatient stay, 
        and more than $1,700 per emergency department visit. Thirty-
        five percent of all denied claims result from inaccurate 
        patient identification, costing the average hospital $2.5 
        million and the United States health care system more than $6.7 
        billion annually.
            (9) Overlaid records, caused by merging multiple patients' 
        data into one medical record, may result in unauthorized 
        disclosures under the Health Insurance Portability and 
        Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as the risk of a patient 
        receiving treatment for another patient's condition.
            (10) This Act would decrease the prevalence of patient 
        misidentification by further promoting interoperability, 
        thereby protecting patients and addressing high costs driven by 
        this issue.

SEC. 3. STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS TO IMPROVE PATIENT MATCHING.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title XXX of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-51 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section:

``SEC. 3023. STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS TO IMPROVE PATIENT MATCHING.

    ``(a) Establishing a Uniform Definition for Patient Match Rate.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall, in 
        consultation with health care providers, vendors of electronic 
        health records and health information technology, patient 
        groups, and other relevant stakeholders, develop a definition 
        and standards for accurate and precise patient matching to 
        track patient match rates and document improvements of patient 
        matching over time. The Secretary shall ensure that such 
        definition and standards for patient match rate account for--
                    ``(A) duplicate records;
                    ``(B) overlaid records;
                    ``(C) instances of multiple matches found; and
                    ``(D) mismatch rates within the same healthcare 
                organizations and provider systems.
            ``(2) Review and update.--In consultation with health care 
        providers, vendors of electronic health records and health 
        information technology, patient groups, and other relevant 
        stakeholders, the Secretary shall review and update the 
        definition and standards developed under paragraph (1), as 
        appropriate, not less frequently than once every 3 years to 
        ensure that such definition and standards are consistent with 
        updates and improvements in technologies and processes.
    ``(b) Development of a Standard Data Set To Improve Patient 
Matching.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, subject to paragraph (2), the 
        National Coordinator shall review the current data set in the 
        United States Core Data for Interoperability and identify, 
        define, and adopt the minimum data set needed to support the 
        adoption of patient matching by entities, including health care 
        providers, developers of health care information technology or 
        certified health IT, or health information networks of 
        exchange, at a rate of 99.9 percent. The National Coordinator 
        shall include such minimum data set in the United States Core 
        Data for Interoperability.
            ``(2) Development of data standards in united states core 
        data for interoperability.--For purposes of improving 
        interoperable health exchange, not later than 1 year after 
        defining the minimum data set described in paragraph (1), the 
        National Coordinator shall create, update, or adopt data 
        standards for the data elements identified in the minimum data 
        set and incorporate such standards into the United States Core 
        Data for Interoperability.
            ``(3) Consultation required.--In identifying and defining 
        the minimum data set described in paragraph (1) and creating, 
        updating, or adopting data standards described in paragraph 
        (2), the National Coordinator shall consult with--
                    ``(A) health care providers;
                    ``(B) vendors of electronic health records;
                    ``(C) vendors of health information technology;
                    ``(D) patient groups;
                    ``(E) Federal agencies, including the National 
                Institute of Standards and Technology, the Centers for 
                Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of 
                Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security 
                Administration, the Indian Health Service, and the 
                Office for Civil Rights;
                    ``(F) public health authorities within State, 
                local, territorial, and Tribal; and
                    ``(G) any other stakeholders the Secretary 
                determines appropriate.
            ``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to require an entity to meet a minimum 
        patient match rate of 99.9 percent.''.
    (b) Incorporating the Minimum Data Set for Patient Matching Into 
Certification Requirements.--Section 3004(b) of subtitle B of title XXX 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-14(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(4) Special rule.--
                    ``(A) Incorporation of minimum data set into health 
                it certification requirements.--Notwithstanding 
                paragraph (3), the Secretary shall incorporate and 
                adopt the minimum data set for patient matching 
                established under section 3023 into the certification 
                criteria adopted under this section not later than 180 
                days after such data set is finalized.
                    ``(B) Incorporation of minimum data set into 
                medicare interoperability program requirements.--Not 
                later than 24 months after the incorporation of the 
                minimum data set for patient matching into the 
                certification criteria as required in subparagraph (A), 
                the Secretary shall incorporate and adopt such minimum 
                data set for patient matching established under section 
                3023 into program requirements to promote the 
                interoperability of certified EHR technology for 
                entities participating in the Medicare program under 
                title XVIII of the Social Security Act.''.
    (c) Additional Incentives To Promote Interoperability.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 24 months after the 
        incorporation and adoption of the minimum data set for patient 
        matching into the program requirements to promote the 
        interoperability of certified EHR technology for entities 
        participating under the Medicare program under title XVIII of 
        the Social Security Act as required in subparagraph (B) of 
        section 3004(b)(4) of title XXX of the Public Health Service 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-14(b)), the Administrator of the Centers 
        for Medicare and Medicaid Services shall, through rulemaking, 
        establish a voluntary bonus measure within the Medicare 
        Promoting Interoperability Program for eligible providers who 
        meet an accurate patient match rate (as defined under section 
        3023 of subtitle C of title XXX of the Public Health Service 
        Act) of at least 90 percent or the rate determined under 
        paragraph (4) to voluntary attest to and receive a payment 
        adjustment for meeting such measure.
            (2) Special rule.--In establishing the voluntary bonus 
        measure described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall--
                    (A) ensure that the total score for incentive 
                payments or status as an eligible provider will not be 
                negatively impacted if the eligible provider does not 
                attest to an accurate patient match rate; and
                    (B) ensure that the voluntary attestations 
                regarding patient matching rates shall not be publicly 
                disclosed.
            (3) Voluntary reporting program.--The National Coordinator, 
        along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and 
        other Federal agencies determined appropriate by the Secretary, 
        shall develop a voluntary reporting program for eligible 
        providers to anonymously submit patient matching accuracy data 
        to the Department of Health and Human Services.
            (4) Annual review of patient match rate.--
                    (A) In general.--Utilizing the patient matching 
                accuracy data described in paragraph (2) and any 
                additional data sources available, the Administrator of 
                the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services shall 
                review and evaluate the patient match attestation rates 
                annually to determine if such rate should be adjusted.
                    (B) Adjustment.--The Administrator may adjust the 
                patient match rate described in paragraph (1) if the 
                Administrator determines that the patient match 
                attestation rate should be adjusted to further 
                incentivize the voluntary reporting of accurate patient 
                match rates.
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