For several weeks a Spokane Valley resident has been battling a medical record error that mistakenly linked her to a psychiatric encounter she never had. The mistake began in August when her husband received a call from the emergency department of St. Michael Medical Center, a facility in Western Washington, asking about a patient matching his wife’s name and birth date.

Discovery of the error

“He verified the birth date, it was correct, name was correct. He said, ‘you must have the wrong records. I’m looking at her right now, and she’s not a patient,'” the woman recalled. The hospital later confirmed that a registration error had placed her identity on a chart that belonged to another individual.

Potential risks

She explained that the erroneous chart contained highly sensitive psychiatric information. “If my record says I take a certain medication and I don’t, and I become unconscious, a hospital could give me the wrong drug based on that record,” she warned. The mistake also appeared in pharmacy systems, prompting a notification that prescriptions had been filled in Lacey, WA – a city where she does not live.

Steps taken to correct the record

Immediately after the phone call, the couple began contacting the hospital’s risk‑management office, the nursing supervisor and the patient‑support team. A hospital representative told her the issue was a simple registration error and that the chart had been flagged for correction, but the fix was not completed promptly.

Weeks later the woman received a new appointment registration for a visit in Lacey, WA, and a pharmacy called to say prescriptions were ready for her there. She disputed the claims, noting she does not use that pharmacy and that the medications listed were not hers.

Hospital response

St. Michael Medical Center, part of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health system, issued a statement emphasizing its commitment to patient safety and privacy. The hospital said it follows strict identity‑verification procedures and that, in the rare event of a misidentification, it alerts the patient, corrects records across its network and notifies any other health‑care organizations involved.

“While electronic health records have greatly enhanced care coordination, correcting misidentifications can sometimes take additional time if multiple health‑care entities are involved,” the statement added.

Additional safeguards

The couple placed a fraud alert with their insurance carrier and filed a police report, treating the incident as a possible case of medical identity theft – a crime that can lead to fraudulent billing, insurance claims and compromised health information.

Resources from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Trade Commission provide guidance on protecting against medical identity theft.

Current status

According to the woman, the erroneous record has now been corrected, though she has not yet received a formal report explaining how the mistake occurred. She hopes her experience raises awareness of the importance of accurate health‑care data and the potential dangers of misidentified medical records.

Original reporting: KHQ Spokane (news) — read the source article.