A patient seen twice at your facility should have how many records in the Patient Master File?

A patient seen twice at your facility should have how many records in the Patient Master File?

• A. Two records
• B. Three records
• C. Four records
• D. One record

Answer: (D)

The Patient Master File should contain one record per patient. This master record is a persistent, single representation of the individual that stays the same across multiple visits. When the patient returns, a new encounter or visit record is created, but it links to that same Master File entry. Creating a new Master File for each visit would duplicate the patient’s identity, fragment their history, and make it harder to accurately aggregate data across visits. If duplicates exist due to data quality issues, they should be identified and resolved so there is one Master File per patient.

The Patient Master File should contain one record per patient. This master record is a persistent, single representation of the individual that stays the same across multiple visits. When the patient returns, a new encounter or visit record is created, but it links to that same Master File entry. Creating a new Master File for each visit would duplicate the patient’s identity, fragment their history, and make it harder to accurately aggregate data across visits. If duplicates exist due to data quality issues, they should be identified and resolved so there is one Master File per patient.