Clinical Intelligence Research Press Clinical Intelligence Research Press

Search

Search results:
Probabilistic Record Linkage and Machine Learning Model for Detecting Duplicate Patient Records Using Demographic Similarity, Address Variation, Encounter History, Insurance Identifiers, and Clinical Pattern Matching
Duplicate patient records are a pervasive problem in electronic health records, endangering patient safety and inflating healthcare costs. In EHR-driven health systems, identity fragmentation can separate medications, allergies, diagnoses, laboratory results, and prior encounters across more than one record. Traditional probabilistic linkage relies on manual tuning of weights for demographic attributes and cannot fully exploit temporal address changes, insurance identifiers, or clinical patterns. These limitations become especially important when names are misspelled, addresses change, identifiers are missing, or patients receive care across multiple facilities. This article develops a conceptual model that combines probabilistic record linkage with machine learning to detect duplicate patient records. The model uses demographic similarity, address variation, encounter history, insurance identifiers, and clinical pattern matching as complementary evidence streams. The proposed model first applies probabilistic blocking to generate candidate record pairs, then uses a deep learning classifier, such as a Siamese network, to score pairs based on static and dynamic features. The output is a duplicate probability that can support automated ranking, human review, and master patient index maintenance. Conceptually, the model would be expected to improve duplicate detection compared with purely probabilistic linkage when demographic data are incomplete or unstable. Its main advantage is that it can anchor linkage decisions in more stable encounter patterns, longitudinal clinical trajectories, and repeated institutional contact signals. Such a hybrid model could enable a more accurate and self-maintaining master patient index while reducing the burden of manual record merging. It would also support safer registration workflows by identifying probable duplicates before identity fragmentation affects care delivery.
Journal of Health Informatics and Digital Systems
Original Research | Open access | 25 February 2025 | Article: 103
Filters
Clear All

Subject
AI-driven Diagnostics Artificial Intelligence in Health Informatics Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Big Data in Healthcare Clinical Data Mining Clinical Decision Support Systems Clinical Informatics Computer Vision Connected Health Systems Deep Learning Digital Health Digital Healthcare Innovation Digital Transformation in Healthcare Electronic Health Records Ethical AI in Healthcare Explainable AI Health Data Analytics Health Data Privacy Health Informatics Health Information Management Health Information Systems Health System Optimization Health Technology Assessment Healthcare Data Science Healthcare Informatics Healthcare Information Security Healthcare Management Healthcare Management Information Systems Intelligent Medical Systems Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Interoperability in Healthcare Systems Machine Learning Medical Data Analytics Medical Data Management Medical Imaging Mobile Health (mHealth) Natural Language Processing Precision Medicine Predictive Analytics Remote Patient Monitoring Smart Healthcare Systems Telemedicine Wearable Health Technologies e-Health




Access type