Odds of Adverse Patient Outcomes Increased for Patients With Duplicate Medical Charts

THURSDAY, Feb. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Patients with duplicate medical charts have increased odds of adverse patient outcomes, including 30-day readmission and intensive care unit level of care, as well as prolonged hospitalization, according to a study published online Feb. 3 in BMJ Quality & Safety.

Gavriel Roda, M.D., from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine in Aurora, and colleagues examined the association between duplicate charts and patient outcomes in a retrospective cohort study involving hospitalized patients aged 18 to 89 years across 12 hospitals within a large multiregion health system. Covariates were balanced between patients with and without duplicate charts in propensity score matching.

Overall, 1,698 patients with duplicate charts were compared to 4,388 patients without, after matching. The researchers found that the odds of adverse outcomes were significantly higher for patients with duplicate records, including 30-day readmission, intensive care unit level of care, and in-hospital mortality (odds ratios, 1.3, 3.5, and 4.7, respectively). In addition, patients with duplicate charts had a 32 percent longer hospital length of stay.

“Despite the significance of this issue, a causal relationship has not been proved and research on the outcomes associated with duplicate records remains scarce,” the authors write.

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