Which two identifiers should be used to verify a patient's identity before procedures?

• A. Name and date of birth.
• B. Room number and physician name.
• C. Address and phone number.
• D. Medical record number and admission date.

Answer: (A)

Verifying who a patient is before any procedure relies on using two identifiers that are easy for the patient to provide, can be checked against the chart, and are stable across settings. Name and date of birth fit this best because the patient can tell you both, they appear on the wristband and in the medical record, and together they usually identify the patient uniquely in the clinical context. This makes it straightforward to confirm the right patient is being treated.

Room number and physician name aren’t reliable for identity: a room can change, and a physician name doesn’t confirm who the patient is. Address and phone number aren’t consistently known or up-to-date and aren’t unique to a single patient. Internal identifiers like the medical record number and admission date are useful for charting and record-keeping, but patients may not always know them, and they’re not as readily verifiable in the moment as name and date of birth.

So, using a patient’s name and date of birth provides a practical, reliable way to verify identity before procedures.