---
title: "Avoid Duplicate Health Records: Financial and Legal Issues - Article"
description: Healthcare documentation has always been a challenge due to the large amounts of information that need to be recorded and accidental duplicate records quickly become disorganized.
---

[Blog | DigiDoc ](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog)

# [Avoid Duplicate Health Records: Financial and Legal Issues - Article](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/avoid-duplicate-records-prevent-issues)

 Written by [Neill Cato](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/author/neill-cato) | Jul 19, 2023 1:00:00 PM

 

Are you struggling with the issue of duplicate health records at your healthcare system? It’s a serious problem in the healthcare industry - duplicate health records, disorganization, and document errors all lead to not only medical risks for patients, but also to problems with billing and finances. According to a 2021 survey of 1,500 health technology managers by Black Book, an estimated 35% of all denied claims resulted from inaccurate patient identification or information. That cost the average hospital $2.5 million in 2020 and the U.S. healthcare system over $6.7 billion annually. These numbers prove how critical it is to keep health records maintained and organized, and to avoid duplicating them to save time, money, and patient relationships. 

 

[RELATED: HOW TO MITIGATE HUMAN ERROR IN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/mitigate-human-error-in-healthcare-systems)

 

## What are Duplicate Health Records? 

Duplicate records are two or more records assigned to the same patient in a healthcare system. Additionally, a patient’s record may sometimes be mixed with data from another patient, creating a combined record that’s extremely dangerous for both patients. Healthcare documentation has always been a challenge due to the large amounts of information that need to be recorded and retained. While digitization of health records does make [organization](https://www.digidoc.tech/solutions) easier in some respects, it also makes it easier to accidentally duplicate records and quickly become disorganized. Here are some of the ways that duplicate healthcare documentation occurs: 

- Data entry errors 
- Inaccurate information from patients 
- Poor data transmission between hospitals or systems 
- Changing identifiers 

 

## Why Does This Pose Such a Risk? 

Duplicate records are a huge risk in healthcare [document management](https://www.digidoc.tech/document-management). As noted, they can cause issues like: 

- Danger to patients
- A weakened patient-provider relationship 
- Billing errors 
- Erroneous insurance claims 
- Accusations of fraud and resulting legal action
- Financial distress within the healthcare organization 
- Low quality research due to bad data 

 

This is why it’s so critical to ensure that duplicate health records are avoided at all costs. 

 

[RELATED: 3 BENEFITS OF DOCUMENT VERSION CONTROL SOFTWARE](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/3-benefits-of-document-version-control-software)

 

## Avoid Duplicating Records by Implementing DigiDoc as Your DMS

Obviously, duplicate records are a serious risk for patients and organizations alike. Luckily, they can be avoided with the right healthcare document management software (DMS) and careful attention to detail. Document version control - a feature that manages all versions of a document and ensures that the most recent version is being used - can be extremely helpful in this scenario. Here are a few other tips for avoiding duplicate health records: 

- Ensure that patient registration in a healthcare system is extensive and standardized, and that each subsequent registration follows the same process. 
- Run data analytics regularly to look for any issues. 
- Implement a DMS within your healthcare system to keep documents organized and up to date.

 

Have questions about duplicate health records or want to explore document management solutions? [Our team is here](https://www.digidoc.tech/contact) to answer your questions and walk you through DigiDoc. 

[View full post](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/avoid-duplicate-records-prevent-issues)

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