IWeb Administrator Guide |
The SIIS deduplication logic uses rule-based algorithms to determine matches in the following order (each is discussed in more detail later):
The following are frequently asked questions about the process of determining a match:
Question | Answer |
Can two different people have the same name and birthdate? |
Yes. Since it is possible for two different people to have the same name and birthdate, these records should not be merged. However, if additional fields do match (e.g., phone number), it may be safe to merge the records. |
Can two different people have the same social security number but no other matching fields? |
No. More than likely, there is a typo (typographical error) in the social security number. |
Can two different people have the same first name, middle name, last name, birthdate and address, but have different social security numbers? |
Yes. This is probably the same person, but the social security number was probably entered incorrectly in one of the records. |
What are other factors to consider? |
|
The first step of deduplication is to obtain a subset of likely matches. These are the existing patients in the database that match on any of the following field values:
The next step is to compare each patient in that subset to the "new" patient.
The following values are pre-processed:
The deduplication logic examples the following fields:
Additional information is determined as follows:
If Field | Quantifier | Field/Value | Then Field | Result |
First Name | EQUALS | BABY BABY BOY Babyboy BABY GIRL Babygirl Babynb BB BB1 BB2 Boy BOY FC1 FC2 FC3 Female GIRL Male NEWBORN Newborn Newborn Boy Newborn Girl MC1 MC2 MC3 Twin A TwinA Twin B TwinB |
First Name | Is identified as a special baby name match |
Street Address State Zip Code |
EQUALS | Street Address City |
Address | Is identified as an address match |
Guardian Last Name or Mother's Maiden Name | EQUALS | Patient's Last Name | Last Name | Additional weight is given to unique last names |
Patient 1's Last Name | EQUALS | Patient 2's Last Name Patient 2's Guardian's Last Name Patient 2's Mother's Maiden Name |
Last Name | Unique Last Names is incremented by 1 |
Patient 1's Guardian's Last Name | EQUALS | Patient 2's Last Name Patient 2's Guardian's Last Name Patient 2's Mother's Maiden Name |
Last Name | Unique Last Names is incremented by 1 |
Patient 1's Mother's Maiden Name | EQUALS | Patient 2's Last Name Patient 2's Mother's Maiden Name Patient 2's Guardian's Last Name |
Last Name | Unique Last Names is incremented by 1 |
Patient 1's Last Name | EQUALS | Patient 1's Guardian's Last Name Patient 1's Mother's Maiden Name |
Last Name | Unique Last Name is incremented by 1 |
Patient 1's Guardian's Last Name | EQUALS | Patient 1's Mother's Maiden Name | Last Name | Unique Last Name is decremented by 1 |
Since the unique last name is calculated in this manner, its value can be anywhere from 0 to 3. |
Approximate Birth Date signifies the birthdate is close. It is calculated as follows:
The SIIS Deduplication logic uses a rule-based algorithm to identify a match. These merge (match) rules are identified by a rule number. The rules, descriptions, and fields are listed below:
Rule # | Description | Fields: Col. 1 | Fields: Col. 2 |
100 | Medicaid Number and File Number | N/A | N/A |
110 | SSN and Birth File Number | N/A | N/A |
120 | First Name and at least of the fields from columns 1 and 2 | SSN Birth File Number Medicaid Number Guardian First Name |
Birth Date Middle Name Unique Last Name Address Phone |
121 | Nickname and Sex and at least one of the fields from columns 1 and 2 | SSN Birth File Number Medicaid Number |
Birth Date Middle Name Unique Last Name Guardian First Name Address Phone |
122 | First Name and approximate Birth Date, and at least one of the fields from column 1 | SSN Birth File Number Medicaid Number |
|
130 | Special Baby Name, Birth Date, and at least two of the fields from column 1 | Unique Last Name Address Phone Guardian First Name Medicaid Number Birth File Number SSN Guardian SSN Middle Name |
|
160 | Birth Date and First Name, and at least one of the fields from column 1 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
|
161 | Birth Date and Nickname and Sex, and at least one of the fields from column 1 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
|
190 | Birth Date and First Name and at least two fields from column 1 | Middle Name Guardian First Name Unique Last Name |
|
191 | Birth Date and Nickname and Sex, and at least one of the fields from column 1 | Middle Name Guardian First Name Unique Last Name |
|
200 | First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, Approximate Birth Date, and at least one of the fields from column 1 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
|
201 | First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, Approximate Birth Date, and at least one field from column 1 | Guardian First Name Unique Last Name |
|
202 | First Name, Last Name, Approximate Birth Date, and at least one field from column 1 and 2 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
Guardian First Name Unique Last Name |
203 | First Name, Middle Name, Approximate Birth Date, and at least one field from column 1 and 2 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
Guardian First Name Unique Last Name |
204 | First Name, Last Name, Approximate Birth Date, and at least two of the fields from column 1 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
|
205 | First Name, Last Name, Approximate Birth Date, and Unique Last Name has at least two matches |
Additionally, there are rules to determine if the patients in the subset are possible matches. The Possible Match rules are not examined until all of the Merge rules for definite matches have been examined. Any patients remaining after that are then examined to see if they are possible matches.
For Louisiana users: As of IWeb version 5.17.5.2, manually entered vaccinations are not overwritten by HL7-sourced vaccinations. If a manually entered vaccination exists, it is automatically considered the best match. |
The Possible Match rules are not examined until all of the Match (merge) rules for definite matches have been examined. (Note that these rules do not have rule numbers.)
States can optionally define a list of Organizations (IRMS) whose patients should never be sent to manual deduplication. If the patient is a possible match with any patient that is currently in the registry, the incoming patient record is deleted rather than sent to manual deduplication. The list of Organizations (IRMS) must be provided and sent to STC's Help Desk. |
Description | Fields: Col. 1 | Fields: Col. 2 |
First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, and Birth Date | N/A | N/A |
First Name, Middle Name, Last Initial, Birth Date | N/A | N/A |
SSN | N/A | N/A |
Medicaid Number | N/A | N/A |
Birth File Number | N/A | N/A |
At least one field from column 1 and 2 | First Name Birth Date |
Address Phone Guardian SSN |
First Names are like-sounding and Approximate Birth Date matches, and at least one field from column 1 | Address Phone Guardian SSN |
|
Birth Date and at least two fields from column 1 | First Name Middle Name Guardian First Name Unique Last Name |
|
Birth Date and First Names are like-sounding, and last names are like-sounding | N/A | N/A |
Finally, it is possible that rules for possible matches have flagged too many records, so additional separate rules are applied for special cases. These apply only to the records that have been flagged as possible matches.
If the rules for possible matches have flagged too many records, these additional, separate rules apply for special cases. There are no rule numbers for these.
Description | Fields: Col. 1 | Fields: Col. 2 |
Birth Dates are very different: Day, Month, and Year do not match and Birth Dates are more than ten years apart. | N/A | N/A |
Twins (Birth Dates are the same and Family/Address information is the same). If First Names do not sound alike and First/Middle/Last Names were not swapped, the records are "twins" if any of the fields in column 1 are true. | Sexes are opposite SSNs are not null and not equal Provider's ID Number is sequential First Initials do not match and First Names, excluding First Initials, do not sound alike Both the First and Middle Names are populated and the first three characters of both Names are different | |
Birth Date does not match and it is not an Approximate Birth Date, and the First Name does not match and the First Name does not match as a Nickname | N/A | N/A |
Middle Initials are present and different in both names and there are no swapped initials | N/A | N/A |
Birth Date does not match and it is not an Approximate Birth Date, and the First Initial is different and the Last Name does not match | N/A | N/A |
Birth Date and Phone Number match but SSN, Address, and Last Initial do not match, and neither First Name or Nickname match, and First Names do not sound similar (this handles the special case of a Phone Number being reissued) | N/A | N/A |
To handle twins with the same First Name, if the records otherwise match and the Middle Initial is different, or the Middle Name is populated and sounds different, the record is sent to manual review | N/A | N/A |
If First Name, Middle Name, and Birth Date match, but none of these match: Last Name, SSN, Mother Maiden Name, Guardian First Name, Address, the records are not a match | N/A | N/A |
If Phone Number and First Name match, but Birth Date, Approximate Birth Date, SSN, Address, Last Initial, Guardian First Name, and Middle Initial do not, the records are not a match (it otherwise would have been sent to manual). This addresses a corner-case of a Phone Number being reissued to someone with the same First Name | N/A | N/A |
If Address and First Name match, but Birth Date, Approximate Birth Date, SSN, Address, Last Initial, Guardian First Name, and Middle Initial do not, the records are not a match (it otherwise would have been sent to manual). This addresses a corner-case of a person with the same First Name moving to an address that someone else had previously | N/A | N/A |
If a record is a possible match and 3+ vaccinations match, the record is automatically processed as an exact match |