Method and apparatus for defining a level of assurance in a link between patient records

A health information computing device associated with a health information infrastructure, the health information computing device comprising:

• a processing circuitry, comprising at least a processor and memory including computer program code;
• a persons database configured to store a record of each of a plurality of persons;
• and
• one or more healthcare facility databases configured to store patient records provided by respective healthcare facilities, wherein the patient records stored in one or more healthcare facility databases comprise at least a portion of corresponding patient records maintained by the respective healthcare facilities, and
• wherein the health information computing device associated with the health information infrastructure is configured to:
• identify one or more links between a patient record associated with a person who has visited a first healthcare facility and pre-existing patient records from at least a second healthcare facility, wherein each pre-existing patient record has a plurality of demographic attributes associated with a patient, and wherein identifying one or more links comprises identifying one or more links based upon an analysis of demographic attributes of the person and the respective patients associated with the pre-existing patient records, wherein identifying the one or more links comprises modifying the persons database to include a pointer from the record of the person who has visited the first healthcare facility to one or more of the pre-existing patient records of at least the second healthcare facility for which a link has been identified;
• define an initial level of assurance in the respective one or more links in response to identification of the one or more links, the initial level of assurance being based on a probabilistic analysis of the plurality of demographic attributes of the person and the demographic attributes of the patients associated with the pre-existing patient records;
• in response to identification of the one or more links, provide information to the first healthcare facility visited by the person regarding the pre-existing patient records from at least the second healthcare facility for which a link has been identified with the patient record associated with the person and receive external information provided by the person at the first healthcare facility regarding a relationship between the person and the respective patients associated with the pre-existing patient records or regarding confirmation of an identity of the person;
• define a level of assurance in the respective one or more links based upon the external information;
• cause a network link to be established between the first and second healthcare facilities to permit at least portions of the patient records to be shared based upon the level of link assurance;
• and
• following establishment of the network link, control actions taken based upon the level of assurance in the links to the respective patient records by permitting different actions to be taken with respect to the pre-existing patient records depending upon the level of assurance in the links to the respective patient records, wherein the health information computing device is configured to control actions taken based upon the level of assurance in the links by communicating, responsive to a request by the person for admission at the first health care facility, information from the pre-existing patient records regarding a prior encounter of the person but not documentation associated with the prior encounter from the second health care facility to the first health care facility in an instance in which the link has a first level of assurance and communicating, responsive to the request by the person for admission at the first health care facility, information from the pre-existing patient records regarding the prior encounter of the person as well as documentation associated with the prior encounter from the second health care facility to the first health care facility in an instance in which the link has a second level of assurance;
• wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to define the level of assurance by re-defining the initial level of assurance in the respective one or more links based upon the external information.

A computer program product implemented by a health information infrastructure, comprising at least a computer device, and comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code portions stored thereon, the program code portions configured, upon execution, to:

• identify one or more links between a patient record associated with a person who has visited a first healthcare facility and pre-existing patient records from at least a second healthcare facility, wherein each pre-existing patient record has a plurality of demographic attributes associated with a patient, and wherein identifying one or more links comprises identifying one or more links based upon an analysis of demographic attributes of the person and the respective patients associated with the pre-existing patient records;
• defining an initial level of assurance in the respective one or more links in response to identification of the one or more links, the initial level of assurance being based on a probabilistic analysis of the plurality of demographic attributes of the person and the demographic attributes of the patients associated with the pre-existing patient records access a record of each of a plurality of persons in a persons database and access patient records provided by respective healthcare facilities in one or more healthcare facility databases, wherein the patient records stored in one or more healthcare facility databases comprise at least a portion of corresponding patient records maintained by the respective healthcare facilities, and wherein identifying the one or more links comprises modifying the persons database to include a pointer from the record of the person who has visited the first healthcare facility to one or more of the pre-existing patient records of at least the second healthcare facility for which a link has been identified;
• in response to identification of the one or more links, provide information to the first healthcare facility visited by the person regarding the pre-existing patient records from at least the second healthcare facility for which a link has been identified with the patient record associated with the person and receive external information provided by the person at the first healthcare facility regarding a relationship between the person and the respective patients associated with the pre-existing patient records or regarding confirmation of an identity of the person;
• define a level of assurance in the respective one or more links based upon the external information;
• cause a network link to be established between the first and second healthcare facilities to permit at least portions of the patient records to be shared based upon the level of link assurance;
• and
• following establishment of the network link, control actions taken based upon the level of assurance in the links to the respective patient records by permitting different actions to be taken with respect to the pre-existing patient records depending upon the level of assurance in the links to the respective patient records, wherein the program code portions are configured, upon execution, to control actions taken based upon the level of assurance in the links by communicating, responsive to a request by the person for admission at the first health care facility, information from the pre-existing patient records regarding a prior encounter of the person but not documentation associated with the prior encounter from the second health care facility to the first health care facility in an instance in which the link has a first level of assurance and communicating, responsive to the request by the person for admission at the first health care facility, information from the pre-existing patient records regarding the prior encounter of the person as well as documentation associated with the prior encounter from the second health care facility to the first health care facility in an instance in which the link has a second level of assurance;
• wherein the program code portions are further configured to define the level of assurance by re-defining the initial level of assurance in the respective one or more links based upon the external information.