Beginning in April, when you check in for an appointment at Prowers Medical Center, you will notice a couple of changes we’re making to serve you better. Amber Rider, Director of Quality and Patient Safety, explains.

Patient Photos Added to Medical Record

Properly identifying patients is the first safety step in health care. Improper identification can result in treatment errors and wrong-person procedures. It can also lead to privacy violations, billing errors, insurance fraud and even identity fraud.

Before any test or procedure is performed, the patient’s name and date of birth is always verbally verified. Now we are adding patient photos to the process as well.

Your photo will be captured and added to your electronic medical record. Any time one of our team members is providing you with a service, they will see your photo on their screen and confirm it is indeed the person they are caring for. Studies have shown that this simple visual tool significantly reduces medical errors and enhances communication between caregiver and patient.

Committed to Providing Safe Health Care

Soon, when you check in for an appointment at Prowers Medical Center, you’ll notice a couple of changes to enhance patient registration.

When you arrive to check in, you will be asked to present a photo ID such as a current driver’s license, government-issued ID card, tribal ID card, United States passport, Certificate of Naturalization, employment card or student ID card. Then we’ll take your picture and upload it to your medical record. If you forget your ID, don’t worry. You will still receive care. We’ll simply ask you to bring your ID next time.

You will only need to have your photo taken once. If your appearance changes significantly at any time, a new photo will be taken.

Demographic Diversity Form Deployed

A second change you will see when you check in at Prowers Medical Center is a new form designed to capture better patient information on ethnicity, race, language, disability, and sexual orientation and gender identity.

This more detailed information will help us serve you better and provide you with care that is more attuned to your needs.

For example, certain medical problems have higher incidences among certain ethnicities or races. Diabetes, for instance, has a high prevalence not broadly across Latin Americans but instead more specifically among Mexican Americans. And different cultural groups have different wellness and communication needs. Knowing your language skills and preferences will help us ensure we effectively communicate with you, adding in translation services whenever needed. In general, knowing your background and self-identity will help our providers deliver targeted, high-quality and sensitive care.

You will fill out the demographic form once, and it will become part of your medical record. If you so wish, you may decline to answer any or all of the questions on the form. If your self-identification in any of the demographic areas changes, you may complete a new form at any time.

Part of Health Care Quality Standards

The new patient photo and demographic-form registration components at Prowers Medical Center align with national initiatives to continuously improve health care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Colorado’s HTP—Hospital Transformation Program—now require all hospitals to collect enhanced patient demographics. And patient photos have been a key part of medical records in most health care systems for years.

Prowers Medical Center is committed to providing safe, excellent, compassionate health care to you, your family and neighbors. Our enhanced patient registration protocols will keep us aligned with that commitment.