ENGLEWOOD, CO – The Medical Group Management Association has launched an industry wide effort calling on health insurers, vendors and healthcare providers to adopt standardized, machine-readable patient ID cards by Jan. 1, 2010.

"We're launching Project SwipeIT because the adoption of this technology is long overdue," said William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, president and CEO of MGMA. "Our healthcare system wastes billions each year on redundant, wasteful administrative tasks - such as manually entering patient ID information - and the cumulative effects of that waste are staggering."

MGMA estimates that machine-readable patient ID cards could save physician offices and hospitals as much as $1 billion a year by eliminating unnecessary administrative efforts and denied claims.

The current process is prone to human error, since employees in a doctor's office or hospital must re-enter demographic and insurance information into their computer systems. Machine-readable cards, linked to providers' computer systems via a card reader, would automatically enter patient information correctly and cost-effectively.

A machine-readable card compliant with the mandates of the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange costs about 50 cents - just a fraction more than the non standardized, plastic or paper cards that most insurers now use.

Officials said that the savings that insurers will see from reduced provider inquiries, claims reprocessing and labor will far exceed this expense.

"MGMA looks to public and private insurers to lead the charge to adopt standardized patient ID cards," said Jessee. "A critical mass of patients walking into waiting rooms with these cards is an important first step toward eliminating administrative waste."

MGMA is also calling on the vendor community to offer affordable card-reader interfaces to work with standardized patient ID cards by Jan. 1, 2010. Providers, medical associations and medical societies should also get involved by making widespread use of standardized patient ID cards and machine-readable technology a priority by that date.