| Course | HI150 Automation of Health Information 1 |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Master patient index exercise |
| Length | About 690 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Information Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HI150 Unit 4
Okafor Girl Became Adaeze Okafor and Got a Second Number: A Unit 4 Master Patient Index Exercise Tracing a Newborn Duplicate From the Nursery's Temporary Name to the Clinic Registration That Missed It
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HI150: Automation of Health Information 1
Unit 4 Master Patient Index Exercise
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The newborn, the family and the hospital are composite; the identification requirements, matching evidence and sources cited are real.
The Two Index Entries
1. Name: entry A, OKAFOR, GIRL CHIOMA; entry B, OKAFOR, ADAEZE.
2. Date of birth: A, March 3; B, March 3.
3. Sex: female in both.
4. Address: the same street address in both; B adds an apartment number.
5. Phone: A, the mother's mobile; B, the father's mobile.
6. Social Security number: absent from both.
7. Mother's record number: linked in A through the birth encounter; not linked in B.
8. Encounters: A has the birth, nursery stay and newborn screening results; B has a two-week well visit and a hearing rescreen.
Determination
These entries are the same child. Date of birth, sex and address match. The surname matches. The first-name difference is explained by the hospital's newborn naming convention, which registers newborns under the mother's surname, the infant's sex and the mother's first name until a given name is known, a method that national patient safety requirements encourage so that babies born the same day are not confused (The Joint Commission, 2018). The father's phone number in entry B is consistent with the same household. This is a duplicate, one person with two numbers, not an overlay, which would be two people sharing one number and would require separating mixed information rather than combining it. Nothing went wrong at birth. The duplicate was created three weeks later by a search that did not know what a newborn's first name looks like.
Cause
The clinic registrar searched by first name, last name and date of birth: Adaeze, Okafor, March 3. The index returned no match, because entry A's first name field held GIRL CHIOMA. The search did not use the mother's record link or the address. Discrepancies in identifying fields, especially names, are among the most common reasons patient matching fails (Just et al., 2016), and newborn temporary names produce exactly this discrepancy by design.
Consequences If Left Unmerged
The clinic's record lacks the newborn screening results and the birth hearing screen, which explains why the clinic ordered a hearing rescreen the birth record would have shown was already scheduled. Duplicate records split clinical history and can lead to missed or repeated tests. A merge also changes what the family sees: if they request the record or ask for a correction later, the surviving record must contain everything, since requests for access and amendment apply to the whole designated record set (45 C.F.R. § 164.526, 2024).
Correction
1. Merge entry B into entry A, keeping A's record number as the surviving number because it holds the birth history and the link to the mother.
2. Update the surviving entry's legal name to ADAEZE OKAFOR, keeping GIRL CHIOMA as a previous name so future searches on either name find her.
3. Move the clinic encounters and their documents to the surviving record. Documents already filed under B, such as the well-visit note and hearing rescreen, are re-indexed, and the merge is logged with the date, both numbers and the analyst.
4. Notify the clinic, the laboratory and the billing office of the merge, since orders and claims under B must point to the surviving number.
5. Check the state newborn screening program's record, which may also carry the temporary name.
Prevention
Add a registration search step for infants under three months: search by date of birth and surname alone, and review any newborn entry with a temporary name before creating a new record. Report all infant duplicates monthly to the registration supervisor.
Measuring Whether It Worked
The index team will run a duplicate detection report monthly for patients under one year of age and count new duplicates, with a target of none created by the temporary-name pattern after the search change.
References
45 C.F.R. § 164.526 (2024). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.526
Just, B. H., Marc, D., Munns, M., & Sandefer, R. (2016). Why patient matching is a challenge: Research on master patient index (MPI) data discrepancies in key identifying fields. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 13(Spring), 1e.
The Joint Commission. (2018, June 25). Distinct newborn identification requirement (R3 Report, Issue 17). The Joint Commission.
HI150 Unit 4 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 4 typically gives you two or more index entries and asks whether they belong to the same person. Compare them field by field in a table before drawing conclusions. Decide whether you are looking at a duplicate, an overlay or an overlap, and explain the difference. Weigh each field, noting which identifiers agree, which disagree and why. Reconstruct the registration step that created the problem. Then describe the correction: which record survives, how documents already filed are moved, who must be notified and how the merge is logged. Finish with a prevention step and a way to measure whether it worked. Use only composite or invented data, even when your example comes from work.
Inside the HI150 Unit 4 example
The exercise lays out eight numbered fields side by side for the two entries. The determination explains the newborn naming convention, citing a national patient safety requirement for distinct newborn identification, and distinguishes a duplicate from an overlay. A highlighted line places the error three weeks after birth. The cause section reconstructs the clinic search, citing research on identifier discrepancies, with a margin note on locating the cause. Consequences include a repeated hearing test and the patient's rights to the whole record. Five correction steps follow, with a margin note on choosing the surviving record, then prevention and a monthly measure. Each correction step names who acts, so the merge can be audited later.
Reading the HI150 Unit 4 grading rubric
Index exercises in HI 150 are generally graded on reasoning and correction. Points go to a complete field comparison and a determination supported by multiple identifiers. Credit rises for correctly distinguishing duplicates from overlays and explaining why the fix differs. Instructors value a specific, located cause rather than a general statement about registration errors. A complete correction, including document re-indexing, notifications and logging, earns substantial marks. Prevention and measurement steps show systems thinking. Accurate citations complete the rubric. Exercises that merge without evidence, or that merge an overlay, lose the most points. The surviving record should be chosen for a stated reason, and instructors notice when it is.
HI150 Unit 4 help: mistakes that cost points
The most common error is deciding the match from names alone. Weigh every field and explain each discrepancy. Another is confusing a duplicate with an overlay; the correction for an overlay separates information rather than combining it. Students often forget documents already filed under the second number, or other systems that hold it, such as laboratories and state programs. Keep the old name searchable after a merge. Do not use real patient data. If your section supplies index entries, send them and we can write the comparison, determination and correction. Finally, say how you will know the prevention step worked, with a count you can repeat each month.
Get an HI150 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Send the candidate records from your Unit 4 exercise, or describe them if they sit inside a practice system, together with the instructions and your rubric. The custom exercise works from that data through to a determination, a cause and a merge plan. Expect delivery in 24-48h; the first sample is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HI150 Unit 4 questions, answered
What is the difference between a duplicate, an overlay and an overlap?
A duplicate is one person with two numbers in the same index. An overlay is two different people sharing one number, usually because a clerk selected the wrong existing entry. An overlap is one person carrying different numbers across facilities in a shared system. The example handles a duplicate and names the other two so the determination is visibly deliberate.
Which record number should survive a merge?
The example follows a common convention that the older number survives, since it usually carries the longer history, but facility policy decides and your scenario may state it. Whatever the rule, the exercise should name it, apply it, and describe how references to the retired number are redirected so no document is left pointing nowhere.
Can this exercise use data from my job?
Only in a form stripped of anything that identifies a real patient. The sample uses composite names, invented numbers and altered dates, and yours should too. Most sections supply practice records for exactly this reason. If you rely on a work example, describe the pattern of the error rather than the entries themselves, and keep every identifier out.
Where can I find a free HI150 Unit 4 sample paper?
This page holds the full Unit 4 exercise on the newborn duplicate record, with the field comparison and merge plan.
How is a duplicate record different from an overlay?
A duplicate is one person with two record numbers; an overlay is two people sharing one number. Duplicates are merged, while overlays must be separated.