The Patient Matching and Transparency in Certified Health IT (MATCH IT) Act of 2026 has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, marking an important step forward for efforts to improve patient matching, which HIMSS has long supported.

The legislation, introduced Aug. 5 by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jim Banks (R-IN), aims to address the issue of patient misidentification in the U.S. healthcare system and ensure accurate matching of patients with their medical records by promoting interoperability and standardization of patients’ demographic information without increasing burdens on providers and health systems.

“HIMSS applauds Senators Mark Warner and Jim Banks for introducing the MATCH IT Act in the Senate,” said HIMSS President & CEO Hal Wolf. “Accurate patient identification is fundamental to safe, interoperable and high-quality healthcare. By addressing the persistent challenge of patient misidentification, the MATCH IT Act will help improve patient safety, strengthen privacy protections and ensure providers have access to the complete and accurate information they need to deliver informed care. We thank Senator Warner and Senator Banks for their bipartisan leadership on this critical issue, and we urge Congress to advance this legislation.”

Write to members of Congress and ask that they support the MATCH IT Act!

While healthcare leaders recognize the strategic importance of accurate patient identity matching, challenges still remain, including limited data interoperability, duplicate records and inconsistent or missing demographic information.

These challenges continue to put patient safety, quality of care and privacy at risk. Without a national solution to patient misidentification, providers may face medical errors, unnecessary repeat testing and higher healthcare costs. Duplicate medical records result in an average of $1,950 in added costs per inpatient stay and more than $1,700 per emergency department visit, while hospitals face an average of $2.5 million annually in denied claims related to patient misidentification. Overall, this contributes to an estimated $6.7 billion in total costs to the U.S. healthcare system.

The legislation is a companion bill to HR. 2002, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Bill Foster (D-IL) and now has 14 additional co-sponsors, underscoring bipartisan recognition of the need for this key solution.

As a founding member of the Patient ID Now Coalition, HIMSS remains dedicated to finding solutions and advocating for policies that advance a nationwide strategy to address patient identification through legislation and regulations. The Senate introduction of the bipartisan MATCH IT Act is another step in the right direction.

For more information, visit patientidnow.org or contact HIMSS Government Relations at advocacy@himss.org.