--- 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. image: https://www.digidoc.tech/hubfs/image1-2.jpg --- ![image1-2](https://www.digidoc.tech/hs-fs/hubfs/image1-2.jpg?width=1999&height=1333&name=image1-2.jpg)   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.  [![Request a Demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21776509/f37a3a49-7004-4dd4-b0bd-3882cb2309f3.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21776509/f37a3a49-7004-4dd4-b0bd-3882cb2309f3) ###### Related Articles ![health information management challenges](https://www.digidoc.tech/hubfs/health%20information%20management%20challenges.png) ##### [Six Major Health Information Management Challenges: How Document Management Software Can Help](https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/4-major-healthcare-information-management-challenges-and-what-to-do-about-them) Sep 10, 2024 Managing health information is never an easy task, no matter the size of your healthcare organization. Data can quickly pile up, and whether you’re st... 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