As a service to interested members, ASAP is providing access to the The Office of The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC HIT) Project US@ TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION FOR PATIENT ADDRESSES DOMESTIC AND MILITARY, published by the Project US@ Technical Workgroup on Jan. 7, 2022.
The following excerpt from the report provides context and background.
Background
The Pew Charitable Trusts and other organizations have recently promoted the use of United States Postal Service (USPS) Publication 28 as a way to increase address accuracy for the purposes of improved patient matching.1 These and other efforts indicate the potential for improved patient matching through the development and implementation of standards and implementation specifications. ONC received public input on the use of USPS Publication 28 in response to a Request for Information (RFI) on patient matching in the 21st Century Cures Act proposed rule,2 which sought comment on additional opportunities that may exist in patient matching and ways that ONC can lead and contribute to coordination efforts with respect to patient matching; particularly in ways that accurate patient matching can facilitate improved patient safety, better care coordination, and advanced interoperability.
ONC collaborated with standards development organizations (SDOs), including members of the Health Standards Collaborative (HSC), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), and other interested stakeholders to create a unified, cross-standards development organization specification and companion guide for patient address. We engaged a wide range of stakeholders to help ensure that there is broad agreement on Project US@’s resulting specification and companion guide, and build industry commitment around their implementation from the ground up. Together, we hope to establish a lasting, industry-wide approach to representing patient addresses that is consistent across a spectrum of clinical and administrative transactions.
Project US@, TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION FOR PATIENT ADDRESSES DOMESTIC AND MILITARY, FINAL VERSION 1.0, page 6
1 See https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/09/standardized-demographic-data-improve-patient-matching-in-electronic-health-records
2 See 84 FR 7554, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-02224/p-1600