Efficient practice management requires capturing accurate demographic information (name, address, sex, insurance, etc.). Maintaining this data is essential for accurate billing and provides an opportunity to look at your practice results in performance in terms of these demographic groups (i.e. age, sex, race, etc.).

Lessons from the Field

To ensure demographic information is populated within the EHR and is all inclusive, implementers in the field have created a demographic questionnaire, which collects all necessary data for patient registration including the data needed to satisfy this requirement. The form is filled out during patient check-in and entered into the EHR by the front desk staff, ensuring the practice meets this meaningful use requirement by getting the right information into the EHR during the check-in process.

To ensure accurate demographic data is collected, registration staff are coached on ways to ask questions. A script can be developed to guide registration staff on ways to ask the questions and engage patients in self-identifying demographic data.  With close to 100 % compliance on demographic data collection and a practice management system that links up to the EHR, the data collected provides a unique opportunity to look at health disparities.