Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a computerized master patient index?

• A. Decreased duplication of patient registrations
• B. Improved search capability
• C. Duplication of patient registration can never occur
• D. Real-time updating

Answer: (C)

A computerized master patient index helps organize and link patient records so clinicians can access a complete view of an individual’s information across the system. The main benefit is reducing duplicates by using matching processes that determine whether a new entry actually belongs to an existing patient, which keeps the patient file unified. It also makes searching easier because all related records can be found through one index, and updating happens in real time so the most current information is available across the system.

However, the statement that duplication of patient registration can never occur isn’t accurate. Even with automated matching, duplicates can arise due to incomplete or inconsistent demographic data, data entry errors, name changes, or limitations in the matching algorithms. MPI systems aim to minimize duplicates and detect potential duplicates, but they cannot guarantee zero duplication.