Stop using Integer ID’s in your Database
If there is no mechanism for accessing the history of name changes for an individual, then you should regard the EHR as dangerously immature.
David Uhlman • Hacking Healthcare: A Guide to Standards, Workflows, and Meaningful Use
Who is creating those identifiers? And who is organizing data around them? Today, it’s nearly every site you visit, product you use, or company you encounter. Identifiers are listed in a database they have created, mostly private and siloed from every other company’s. Data is put there, and linked there, as well. Often this organized around a user ... See more