Seeing Double: The financial and patient safety impacts of duplicate medical records

Duplicate and overlaid medical records have a ripple effect on the entire revenue cycle—and the entire organization. They’re a source of billing and coding errors, denials, and even serious medical errors that can jeopardize a patient’s health and safety.

But at busy hospitals, it’s all too easy for registration staff to make mistakes that lead to duplicate and overlaid records. Although adjustments to staffing and metrics can help ease the pressure on the front end, it can be difficult to get support to make changes that will help reduce errors.