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Does Renewed Call for National Patient ID Signal…Anything?

April 18, 2017/4358 views / 2 Comments/in BLOG, Comments On Recent Biometric News Stories, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by Michael Trader

Early last week, a group of 25 healthcare organizations representing providers, payers, and health IT companies submitted a letter to members of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations asking for the removal of a nearly twenty-year-old provision preventing HHS from adopting or implementing a national patient identifier. (source: http://bit.ly/2oQ9PEJ). The goal is to prod Congress to include specific language in the FY18 Labor-HHS spending bill that allows HHS to assist private sector organizations in promoting patient matching initiatives. It’s an unprecedented move to bring yet more attention to the growing and complex problem of accurate patient identification and data matching that continues to plague the healthcare industry from top to bottom, affecting just about every element of care delivery as patients move in and out of the care continuum.

Will the latest letter to Congress asking for the 18 year HHS moratorium on a national patient identifier encourage them to act?

As we have written about before on this blog, we have been saying for years that healthcare simply has to solve the patient ID dilemma and adopt a more holistic approach to patient matching that effectively addresses authentication at the host of new touchpoints borne from the digital health revolution. In fact, hospitals and healthcare systems that invest in patient ID solutions that only cover identification in physical, brick and mortar environments are doing themselves a disservice and severely limiting their ability to ensure patients are kept safe no matter where or in what context they seek care. If any of these institutions plan to participate in local, regional, or national health information exchanges (HIEs) or adopt interoperability standards in the spirit of open and fluid data exchange, they will quickly realize they made the wrong investment choice.

To frame the urgency of the situation, the letter stated:

“According to a recent study of healthcare executives, misidentification costs the average healthcare facility $17.4 million per year in denied claims and potential lost revenue,” the letter stated. “More importantly, there are patient safety implications when data is matched to the wrong patient and when essential data is lacking from a patient’s record due to identity issues.” (Source: http://bit.ly/2oQ9PEJ)

The letter even went on to point out that important initiatives like precision medicine and disease research could continue to suffer and lose significance in the absence of solving the patient ID issue not to underscore the potential negative impact on the aforementioned HIE and interoperability efforts. What’s clear is that millions and millions of research and development capital and manpower has been invested in advancing personalized medicine, data exchange, and interoperability in the absence of solving the problem of inaccurate patient identification and to be honest, we feel that many are starting to get a little nervous.

The question becomes – will this letter actually move the needle and capture the lawmaker’s attention? Considering the new administration’s failed efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare and their healthcare agenda moving forward, our guess is probably not. While we applaud the effort, past attempts to bring this issue to the forefront in the spirit of including language and funding in the HHS appropriations bill that lifts the 18 year moratorium on patient identification have generally stalled. In our opinion, there are too many more high-profile healthcare issues at play that diminish the urgency of solving patient ID in healthcare. Unfortunately, achieving accurate patient ID in healthcare doesn’t carry enough political clout to be considered something worth immediately pursuing and it’s simply not enough of a concern of lawmaker constituents for them to kick up a fuss at the fact that it remains unsolved. At least not yet, anyway.

We wonder….would this group of 25 healthcare organizations be better served to build a larger and more widespread groundswell of support among us, the patients, about achieving accurate patient ID in healthcare instead of going after the big fish (Congress)? Could an argument be made that it’s a more effective strategy to build consensus among patients who, indirectly, can then place pressure on their respective lawmakers to take action? Is it more effective to attack and leverage the power of the voter vs. swaying the whims of Congress? Perhaps, however, it should be noted that grassroots efforts take an enormous amount of time to organize and execute, and the issue of accurate patient ID in healthcare simply can’t afford to wait any longer.

So, we wait. Cautiously optimistic that when framed in the larger context of tangential initiatives failing in the absence of accurate patient ID, 2017 could indeed be the year that Congress takes a step forward in solving the issue. Heaven only knows if they will act, but a step forward is surely more powerful than 18 steps in place.

HIMSS 2017 Recap and Announcing the Winner of our Booth Giveaway

March 7, 2017/7726 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Events/Conferences, Mobile, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

For those that attended the 2017 HIMSS Conference in Orlando, welcome back to reality! Even though the show ended last week, the reverberations and excitement of the information, technology, and ideas shared, unveiled, and discussed will be around for years to come.

Each annual HIMSS conference presents a wealth of knowledge and showcases perhaps the most interesting and innovative healthcare technology in the world. If you are lucky enough to attend HIMSS, you know that it’s easy to get swallowed up in the Exhibit Hall by vendors competing for your attention and blinded by the flashing lights, spinning booth displays, and boisterous entertainment. Unless you map out a specific vendor path destination or have a pre-determined agenda scheduled, things can get rather dicey navigating the hordes of people congregating in the aisles.

The RightPatient team had a very successful 2017 HIMSS conference.

For those of you that took the time to stop by and visit us in the GA Health IT Pavilion (Booth #3015) to see how cognitive vision intelligence can improve patient safety and increase revenue though accurate patient identification, a sincere thank you. You were treated to not only our innovative and unique approach to solving the patient identity crises in healthcare through the use of photo biometrics, but you also were on hand to witness the unveiling of PatientLens™ – a human vision app to reduce medical errors and increase patient safety that turns any smart device into a powerful, intuitive patient ID tool.

You learned that PatientLens helps to identify unconscious patients in seconds and is an important part of an overarching strategy to reduce medical errors along the care continuum by positively identifying a patient prior to rendering services or distributing data. After all, it’s no longer feasible or realistic to define patient ID solely in the context of a physical visit to a healthcare organization. Patient identification must now be viewed as critical during each and every touchpoint along the care continuum – e.g. connected health apps, telemedicine, home health, and patient portals. Investing in a patient ID and patient data integrity technology that can only be used when a patient physically shows up for a visit is an antiquated and somewhat risky and dangerous approach.

Another fantastic year at HIMSS! The exhibit floor was very busy.

The time is now to learn more about establishing a holistic approach to patient ID that addresses the positive identification of increasingly mobile patients with cognitive vision technology that saves lives, improves quality and reduces risk.

We would like to take a moment and announce that John Faust, VP of Health Informatics and Technology at Lifepont health was the winner of our Amazon Echo booth giveaway. Congratulations John!

We would also like to extend a thank you to the GA Department of Economic Development and the Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to share booth space and for making the entire logistical process smooth as silk. We are very grateful!

Visit RightPatient® at 2017 HIMSS Conference in the GA HealthIT Pavilion (Booth #3015)

January 29, 2017/5128 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Events/Conferences /by John Trader

Visit us in the GA HealthIT Pavilion (Booth #3015) at the 2017 HIMSS Convention to learn more about how to completely transform how you identify patients.

Join RightPatient in the GA HealthIT Pavilion in Booth #3015 at the 2017 HIMSS convention to learn more about the value of implementing cognitive vision to your technology ecosystem to completely transform how you identify patients. RightPatient® accurately recognizes patients at the hospital and when they login to a portal, or anywhere along the care continuum through any off the shelf device.

The RightPatient Cloud Platform solves the patient identification challenge by using the photo and unique biometric information of patients to accurately identify them during each encounter in both physical and virtual environments. Stop by booth #3015 at the 2017 HIMSS Convention in Orlando to learn more about:

— Why photo biometrics is the ideal technology and future of patient identification in healthcare
— How RightPatient® seamlessly integrates with all major EHR systems including Cerner®, Epic, Meditech, and McKesson
— The importance of implementing non-contact, hygienic biometric patient ID solutions
— Our affordable SaaS model
— How to improve patient safety and prevent duplicates with photo biometrics for patient identification

As part of the Georgia, USA Pavilion (Booth #3015) HIMSS17 Speaker Series, our President and Co-Founder Michael Trader will be presenting a special educational session on “The Rising Significance of Holistic Patient ID in Healthcare” on Tuesday February 21st at 1:30 p.m. Join us for Michael’s perspective on why it is critical to address accurate patient identification at each and every point along the care continuum instead of only the first stop at patient registration.

Schedule a meeting with us by sending an email to: info@rightpatient.com or call us at 770-821-1729.

Pressed for time but still want to stop by and meet the RightPatient team? Join us for a beverage at the GA HIMSS Chapter reception. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/2knXCWm

We will have a daily drawing at our booth for an Amazon Echo for those who schedule an appointment!

(If you aren’t attending HIMSS 2017 but would still like to learn more about RightPatient® and see a demo, please contact us!)

Hope to see you in Orlando the week of February 19th!

What You Need to Know About Your Patient & What They Need to Know About You

January 25, 2017/4624 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Guest Blog Posts, Patient Identification, Patient Outcomes /by John Trader

The following guest post on patient relations in healthcare was submitted by Hannah Whittenly.

Understanding your patients and making sure they know you helps establish a relationship of trust. This should decrease or eliminate misunderstandings and errors. The following are just a few things you need to know about your patients and what they need to know about you.

Establishing an environment of trust helps decrease or eliminate misunderstandings and medical errors in healthcare.

What Doctors Need to Know

Patient Identification

Patient identification is of the utmost importance for a doctor. It helps ensure that the patient’s identity matches the treatment or service. Keep in mind that the proper procedure for patient identification is for your staff to ask patients to state their name and date of birth. Identification issues might occur when patients have hearing issues, so it is wise to be on top of this problem.

Patient Data

Recording patient data can help your practice and the medical industry as a whole. Understanding a patient’s medical history and tracking a patient’s health, medications, and lifestyle helps doctors come up with a customized plan to reduce the chance of errors. This type of data helps establish patterns for clients and may even help you reevaluate a plan to provide what your patients need the most.

What Clients Need to Know About You

Track Record

Patients should be aware of a doctor’s track record so that they can make an informed decision. This can be done by searching for the doctor’s name on the state’s medical licensing board website. There may be some information on the doctor and his or her track record. It might be a good idea to type in the doctor’s full name and location in a search engine to find out more information about the doctor. A patient can rest easy knowing that a doctor’s track record is clean, and it should make it easy for the client to trust you.

Education

Most state medical licensing boards have information regarding a doctor’s education, but this is not always the case. There are some instances when the state’s licensing board may not be updated. It might be a good idea to check out sites like UCompareHealthcare to learn about a doctor’s education. You can even check out the rest of the staff’s education. If you wanted to look up a nurse who may have participated in an online msn program, for example, you could look him or her up to see what their record and education history looks like and be more assured that they are the right nurse for you. Patients should be able to find out about the medical professionals that that they see pretty easily. This helps them feel more comfortable, and it makes it easier to make a decision about making you the doctor or nurse that they request on a regular basis.

All this information matters, and it is vital in building the right relationship. It also makes a difference in the type of care you provide to your patients.

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.

Our Top Posts on Patient ID in 2016

January 4, 2017/6540 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Comments On Recent Biometric News Stories, Future of Biometrics, Patient Identification, Patient Safety, Photo Biometrics /by John Trader

We work hard throughout the year to help our community stay informed of the latest news and information on the state of patient identification in healthcare. Our perspective is that the future of patient ID is the patient photo, and with good reason. The ECRI recently recommended that healthcare organizations use more standard means of patient identification, which should include patient photos with their electronic health records (EHR). In addition, many prominent healthcare providers have already implemented patient photo capture initiatives, pointing out that capturing a photo increases patient safety and helps augment effective patient provider communication.

A look back at our most trafficked blog posts of 2016 and a few words on the state of patient ID in healthcare.

Understanding that accurate patient ID in healthcare affects so many more downstream activities and is widely considered to be the “big bang” of effective and safe patient care, the urgency for hospitals and healthcare organizations to adopt more secure patient identification technology has never been stronger.

Healthcare providers should take note however that not all biometric patient identification solutions are equipped to address the challenges and complexities of ensuring ID accuracy across the entire care continuum which now includes a multitude of new touchpoints such as connected health devices, patient portals, telemedicine, home health, and more. Investing in a patient identification solution that simply provides the ability to accurately identify an individual when they are physically present at a medical facility is now considered short-sighted. Healthcare providers should now consider adopting patient ID technology that is easily scalable, and has the flexibility to capture and store a patient’s photo for accurate identification during any encounter along the care continuum.

In 2016, we wrote extensively about the impact of accurate identification on patient safety including several posts that extrapolate on the imperatives of capturing photos as part of the ID process. We also covered how technology has changed healthcare provider patient ID protocols, the growth and impact on patient ID of iris recognition on smart devices, the characteristics and limitations of patient ID biometric hardware, and much more.

After crunching the numbers, what were our most popular blog posts for 2016? Here is the list:

Identify Unconscious, Unknown Patients with Biometric Identification Technology – Written in May, 2015 this entry was our most trafficked post in 2016. Understanding how biometric technology works in real-life scenarios can help shed light on its true ability to identify unconscious patients as quickly as possible.
The Difference Between 1:N, 1:1, and 1:Few and Why it Matters in Patient ID – Did you know that there are different biometric matching types depending on the type of hardware modality you deploy for patient ID in healthcare? Written in 2015, this post examines three biometric matching types – one-to-many, one-to-one, and one-to-few – providing a side to side comparison of each matching type capabilities and limitations and providing a recommendation of the only matching type that can truly prevent duplicates and protect patient medical identities.
Removing the word “scan” from iris recognition healthcare biometrics – Our extensive experience deploying iris recognition biometrics around the world helped us to understand and advocate that the word “scan” be removed from any discussion of this technology. Learn more about our viewpoint in this post from 2015.
In Your Face: Future of Federated Patient ID – As we mentioned earlier in this post, the future of patient ID in healthcare is the distinct ability for a provider to capture and store a patient’s photo that can be used for accurate identification at any point along the care continuum. This post, and a subsequent follow up article by our friends at HealthStandards effectively illustrates not only the importance of capturing a patient’s photo at registration but how that photo can be used with facial recognition biometrics for accurate identification no matter where a patient seeks care or data access.
Why telemedicine needs accurate patient ID – Following in the footsteps of our assertion that modern patient identification strategies should be holistic and enable the ability to accurately ID patients at any point along the care continuum, this post covers why we feel accurate patient ID is just as important for connected health and telemedicine as it is for in-person visits.

2016 is a wrap. We observed a few positive advancements to improve patient identification in healthcare, but overall we remain concerned that the topic is often skirted in favor of bolder, more splashy initiatives (e.g. – MACRA, Blockchain, interoperability) which always seem to garner more attention. No doubt that these are important initiatives in the healthcare industry but as we have said many times before — accurate patient identification in healthcare arguably should have been the first problem solved before we tackled these other projects. However, factors at play make it perhaps one of the most difficult and complex healthcare issues to solve from a logistical, political, economical, privacy, and health data exchange perspective.

What did you feel was the most important patient identification advancement (or regression) during 2016? Please leave us a comment!

Why Patient Photos Should Be Linked to Medical Records

November 9, 2016/9812 views / 2 Comments/in Biometric Hardware, BLOG, Facial Reciognition, Future of Biometrics, Health Care, Patient Identification, Patient Matching, Patient Outcomes, Patient Safety /by John Trader

The following post on why patient photos should be added to medical records to improve patient safety was submitted by Michael Trader, President and Co-Founder of RightPatient®

The Push to Increase Patient ID Accuracy and Safety

Achieving accurate patient identification in healthcare is an important catalyst to ensure safe, cost-effective care delivery. Although we believe that accurate patient ID should have received more attention and scrutiny parallel to the rapid digitization of the healthcare industry, the issue has finally been thrust into the spotlight by powerful organizations such as AHIMA, the ONC, and CHIME as something that must be solved in order for other mandates (e.g. interoperability, health information exchange, population health, etc.) to materialize.

Why aren’t more healthcare providers capturing patient photos during registration?

Many healthcare organizations have proactively addressed the lingering issue of accurate patient identification by implementing new technologies that supplement existing methods of obtaining demographic information, insurance cards, and proof of ID. The idea is to add biometrics as an added layer of identity protection, security, and identification accuracy by asking patients to provide a physiological token prior to accessing health data and/or medical services. Biometrics for patient ID has rapidly caught on as a proven method to prevent fraud and medical ID theft, improve data integrity, prevent duplicate medical records, and safeguard protected health information (PHI).

Patient Photos Should be Captured During Registration

Despite the rising demand for biometric patient identification to improve patient identification and increase safety, not all solutions are created equal. Healthcare organizations that invest in unilateral biometric patient identification solutions quickly discover that they do not have the ability to easily and automatically capture the patient photo during registration and subsequent visits. This is unfortunate as the photo plays an important role in patient safety and in driving additional value throughout the ecosystem.

In addition, capturing the patient photo with a web camera during initial registration is not enough. This method often produces very poor quality photos, adds an extra step to the process, and the photos cannot be relied upon for other potential uses, such as facial recognition to verify patient identities during remote encounters.

One important differentiator that should be considered when researching a biometric ID solution is whether or not it offers the ability to capture a high-quality patient photo and recognize the patient in a single step. Why?

Patient photos are proven to reduce medical errors.
Respected, influential healthcare organizations recommend including patient photos with their medical record.
Patient photos increase patient safety.
Photos can be used as a second credential for multi-factor patient authentication.
The photo serves as a visual reminder to the provider, thereby enhancing caregiver communication with the patient.
High-quality patient photos allow healthcare providers to leverage facial recognition for accurate patient ID when patient’s access PHI or services in non-traditional settings such as mHealth apps, patient portals, and telemedicine. This enables a holistic approach to establishing accurate patient ID because it addresses all points along the care continuum instead of a narrow approach that only covers patient ID at the point of service in a brick and mortar setting.
In areas like the ED where time is critical, utilizing a web camera and adding an extra step in the workflow is impractical and inefficient.

Criteria that Defines an Effective Biometric Patient ID Solution

In addition to the points mentioned above and the standard questions that should be asked when researching the adoption of a biometric patient ID solution, we recommend that healthcare providers seriously consider the unique value of a platform like RightPatient® that seamlessly captures patient photos and identifies patients in a single step during registration, subsequent visits to a medical facility, and other touchpoints along the care continuum. This establishes a concrete, two-factor audit trail of patient visit activity and identity assurance.

Verify that the biometric patient ID solution offers the following patient photo capture features:

Convenience – Is the patient photo capture process easy and convenient for patients and staff? Photo capture should happen simultaneously with capturing their biometric credentials and should be fast. Otherwise, you run into delays and registration roadblocks in areas like the emergency room where time is of the essence.
Seamless integration and functionality – Patient identification and photo capture should be a seamless part of EHR workflow and not require staff to sign in and out of applications or constantly toggle between applications.
Affordability – Biometric patient ID platforms that offer simultaneous photo capture should be flexible and affordable and offer a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model option.

Conclusion

Capturing patient photos to increase safety and reduce medical costs is not a new concept in healthcare, yet it has failed to become mainstream compared to other industries. In fact, according to a recent report from the ECRI, despite the proven research that photos increase safety and engagement, only 20% of existing providers currently use patient photos. 20%! Think about that in the context of other industries that have used customer photos as part of their routine identification security protocols for years: membership management (e.g. gyms, fitness clubs), banking and finance, retail, education, government — the list is long.

If other industries have relied on the use of photos to augment identification accuracy, why is healthcare so far behind the curve? It seems as if healthcare market conditions and current and future initiatives to improve delivery, achieve better outcomes, perfect individual and population health, and reduce the cost of care are setting the stage for technology that can quickly and seamlessly capture patient photos as part of the identification process. The question is, are you investing in the right solution to harness this power?

Michael Trader is President and Co-Founder of RightPatient®. Michael is responsible for overseeing business development and marketing activities, government outreach, and for providing senior leadership on business and policy issues.

4 Ways Tech Has Changed How Healthcare Providers Handle Patient ID Protocols

October 12, 2016/6313 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Guest Blog Posts, Health Care, Patient Identification, Patient Matching, Patient Safety /by John Trader

The following post on patient ID in healthcare was submitted by Anica Oaks.

Methods of patient identification are critical to matching patients with their intended treatment in busy healthcare facilities. The failure to accomplish this has led to some serious consequences for patients and providers alike, in the form of unnecessary surgeries and wrong patient amputations resulting in a marked rise of lawsuits and malpractice insurance costs. Here are some technical solutions that healthcare professionals are looking at to help solve this problem.

Learn more about patient ID technologies and their impact on patient safety in healthcare.

1. Barcodes
Barcodes offer a convenient and cost-effective approach to establishing patient identity. New patients are entered into the system and issued a bar-coded ID bracelet which can be read by scanners at various locations during treatment, and automatically checked against patient databases. The same barcode can be printed on other documentation to be sure there is a match between the ID bracelet and any medications, test results, or scheduled treatments.

2. RFID Chips
Radio Frequency ID (RFID) chips emitting a unique signal are being touted as a better alternative to barcodes. These can be embedded in wristbands, hospital beds, or patient ID badges. Sensors reading this signal can generate the matching patient records on electronic devices. One advantage over barcodes is that chips can be read from a greater distance; sensors placed throughout the facility can also monitor patient movements for safety and security. RFID chips are also harder to duplicate. For this reason they are advocated by the FDA.

3. Staff Training
Identifying patients and administering ID protocols both upon admission and before receiving treatment typically falls to the nursing staff. Today’s nurses must be technically as well as medically trained to be effective in using the various patient ID technologies. A modern ADN to MSN online program (Associate Degree in Nursing to Master of Science in Nursing) better prepares nurses to understand and apply the technologies in use.

4. Biometrics
Using biometric devices is a fairly new but effective means of positive patient identification. Patient ID in healthcare now offers biometric devices that read iris patterns or even facial structure and are then matched against existing patient data to easily confirm identities. Barcodes or RFIDs leave room for error. A biometric characteristic, however, has only one possible match. Though these systems are more expensive to implement, their reliability and ease of use may be a wise investment.

Healthcare facilities today are faced with the need for stricter standards of patient identification. This is not just to safeguard patient health and professional integrity, but to guard against fraudulent use of ID to obtain drugs or free medical treatment. Today’s technology seems to finally be up to the challenge.

Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she’s used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here.

3 Ways Iris Recognition On Smartphones Will Change Patient ID In Healthcare

October 4, 2016/9300 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Data Integrity, Future of Biometrics, Health Care, Iris Recognition, Medical Identity Theft, Mobile, Patient Identification, Patient Matching, Patient Safety, Photo Biometrics /by John Trader

The following post on iris recognition for patient ID in healthcare was submitted by Brad Marshall, Enterprise Development Consultant with RightPatient®

Smartphones as the “future of medicine”

In case you may have missed the news, last month Samsung released the Galaxy Note 7, making it the first commercially available smartphone that features iris recognition biometric identification technology. The recent recall of this phone because of a faulty battery that could catch fire notwithstanding, the ability for consumers to now leverage iris recognition on their smartphones promises to continue the rapid evolution of adopting more secure patient identification technology on digital devices in healthcare.

Iris recognition for patient ID on smartphones will increase patient and provider confidence in using a smartphone for mhealth data access and services.

Many say that the future of medicine is on our smartphones and with good reason. Both patients and providers are rapidly gravitating to these devices for myriad reasons including administering routine medical tests, sharing data, and ensuring medication adherence. However, despite the tremendous potential for the smartphone to radically alter healthcare delivery, serious issues remain about hacking and personal privacy which inhibits more widespread use of these devices because many on both sides of the healthcare aisle still aren’t convinced that sensitive protected health information (PHI) is adequately protected and kept secure.

The healthcare industry was buoyed by the introduction of iris recognition as a security measure to protect access and keep PHI secure. Here are 3 reasons why iris recognition on smartphones will significantly improve patient ID and help fuel the rise in the use of these devices in healthcare:

Accuracy: Iris recognition is widely considered to be the most accurate and hygienic form of biometric identification. Smartphones are playing a more prominent role in healthcare on both sides of the spectrum with patients increasingly using the devices to access protected health information through patient portals, share information with providers, for telehealth, and to make appointments and order prescriptions. Providers like smartphones because of their portability, accessibility, and mobility. The ability of iris recognition to replace less reliable and less accurate methods of biometric authentication on smartphones (e.g. fingerprints) will help increase and sustain the momentum of their use in healthcare. This bodes well for the industry wide push to establish fluid interoperability based on clean data because it lends confidence that PHI is accurate providing healthcare providers the confidence to participate in health information exchanges on both a regional and national scale.
Eligibility expansion: As of 2015, 68% of American adults owned a smartphone, and 62% of smartphone owners had used their phones to look up information about a health condition (source: http://bit.ly/2dGZ0kQ). The question isn’t whether smartphone use will rise in healthcare, it’s how fast it will rise and how many people will continue to adopt it. Unlike other biometric technologies such as fingerprints that have previously been used on smartphones and rely on skin integrity to work effectively which automatically rules out a certain percentage of the population due to ethnicity, age, climate, and skin condition, iris recognition can be used by virtually anyone dramatically increasing the eligibility of those that are eligible to use it. (And, sorry Network World but your assertion that iris recognition “can’t be used as a verification feature for the blind or people with cataracts…” is inaccurate). We know for a fact that iris recognition does work with blind people and patients with cataracts because dozens of hospitals that use our iris biometric patient identification solution have used it successfully in these cases.
Patient Experience: Among the many benefits ushered into our lives from the digital healthcare revolution, increased transparency and accountability is fundamentally improving the provider/patient relationship. Mhealth apps and patient portals have played a key role to help increase patient engagement and accountability for their health but a broad range of privacy concerns remain that have inhibited their widespread use across the healthcare landscape. Iris recognition on smartphones promises to significantly improve patient confidence that their medical identity is protected before they begin to use apps and portals and provides peace of mind that healthcare providers are deploying the most accurate biometric identification technology available in an effort to ensure privacy and security. There is a strong argument that the use of iris recognition on smartphones will improve the patient experience in healthcare.

Conclusion

There is little doubt that smartphones will continue to be a rising conduit for access to data and healthcare services in the future. The introduction of iris recognition on smartphones will only help to instill confidence in patients that their privacy and medical identities are protected and help providers to ensure their databases are clean and accurate thereby boosting participation in mhealth as a viable channel in healthcare.

Have you used iris recognition to verify your identity on a smartphone prior to accessing an mhealth app, telemedicine, or perhaps another digital health tool? How was your experience and do you feel more confident that your medical identity is better protected? Share your comments with us below.

Brad Marshall is an Enterprise Development Consultant with RightPatient®. With several years of experience implementing both large and small scale biometric patient identification projects in healthcare, Brad works closely with key hospital executives and front line staff to ensure project success.

5 Ways to Prevent Patient Fraud and Identity Theft

October 1, 2016/5404 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Guest Blog Posts, Health Care, Medical Identity Theft /by John Trader

The following post on preventing medical ID theft and patient fraud in healthcare was submitted by Meghan Belnap.

In this digital age, we can purchase anything with a click, transfer money from one bank account to another in a split second, and reconnect with people from anywhere in the world. There are so many great advantages to the internet age but unfortunately, there are serious drawbacks as well.

Preventing patient fraud begins with a thorough understanding of how to protect your identity.

As technology advances, so do the dirty tricks played by criminals in an attempt to commit patient fraud and identity theft. With so much of our medical history available at our fingertips in digital form, it’s easier than ever to have that stolen from us. Here are five simple ways to avoid falling victim:

Password Protection

Hackers are skilled at decoding passwords. If the one you use is not a unique combination of numbers, letters, and symbols, you are putting yourself at a higher risk. If your password is still hacked from one site, it is important that you are not also handing them your password for everything else as well. For example, if your patient portal account password is fraudulently obtained, you do not want that to also be the password you use for your bank account. It requires keeping track of numerous passwords, but it is worth it to use different ones for each site you log in to within your digital health network.

Swipe With Caution

Card skimmers are very popular tools used by crooks to gain access to your account information. Each time you swipe a debit or credit card at a hospital or any other A.T.M. machine or gas pump, the machine reads the information stored on the black strip on the back of the card. This houses important information and it is all a hacker needs to wipe out your bank account. When you approach these machines, look at them closely. Does the area that you insert the card into seem loose or ill-fitting in any way? Does the paint color and material of it match the surrounding area? If not, there may be a skimming device attached to the machine. If you are suspicious, try giving it a tug. Is it loose? If you experience this, contact local law enforcement right away.

Monitor Accounts

If you have access to online banking, take advantage of it. Set up alerts that notify you when funds have been used over a certain amount or in ways unusual for your typical spending patterns.

Be Careful With Your Card

Keep an eye on your cards at all times. Statistics show that on average over 12 million U.S citizens identify as fraud victims annually. Professional FBI experts who are board certified behavior analysts specialize in investigative criminal or terrorist actions. While help is offered to those that are victim of patient fraud and identity theft, take the extra precautions to keep yourself safe by implementing smart daily precautions.

Identity Protection Services

There are a variety of resources available at your convenience which specialize in monitoring your social security number, name, and other personal information that could be used for patient fraud or identity theft. Most companies charge a fee to provide this service but if it prevents even one breach, it will be money well spent.

While there are numerous ways someone can gain access to your personal information, there are by far more things you can do to prevent it. Be cautious with your private details. Keep things secure both online and physically with the proper protection required. Whether it’s a safe box in your closet to keep your social security card, health insurance ID, birth certificates and other documents out of reach, or strong passwords that keep hackers out of accounts, it is possible to avoid patient fraud.

Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.

Patient Acceptance of Biometrics for Patient ID Points to Hope, not Hype

September 15, 2016/5180 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Future of Biometrics, Guest Blog Posts, Medical Identity Theft, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

The following guest post on the use of biometrics for patient ID in healthcare was submitted by Jeremy Floyd, VP of Sales with RightPatient®.

After working in the biometrics industry for over a decade, one important lesson I have learned is that public misunderstanding of the technology for personal identification often overshadows real world results. In other words, after being pounded for years with sensationalist depictions of biometrics on the big screen, on the pages of science fantasy novels, and in the media through often gross misinterpretations of how the technology works in real life, biometrics is now being used by hundreds of millions of people around the world each and every day absent of the fears and intrepidations so often described as severe limitations to widespread adoption. For every article that prognosticates the “hype cycle” of biometrics and the “fears” that consumers won’t accept it, there is a counter example of how this technology is positively impacting many different areas of our lives.

High acceptance levels of using biometrics for patient ID have us optimistic that the technology will have a big impact on improving patient safety in healthcare.

From an end user perspective, deployments of biometric technology in government and commercial environments generally fall into two participatory categories: mandatory and voluntary. Mandatory participation of biometric deployments generally falls under governmental use in environments such as border control, national ID, and voter registration for example. If you aren’t willing to participate and have your biometrics captured in these capacities, you will be excluded from engaging in any of these aforementioned activities which could have a severe impact on your well being and quality of life not to mention your ability to freely travel and benefit from government services.

However, mandatory deployments of biometric technology aren’t limited to governmental initiatives and can often spill over into the commercial sector. For example, a company may decide to adopt biometrics for employee time and attendance or perhaps use biometrics for access control to safeguard entry into restricted areas. In these cases, the use of biometrics may be mandatory although questions may arise as to whether an employee would have the right to refuse participation, but that’s another discussion – a different topic for a different blog post.

When you think of voluntary deployments of biometrics from a participatory perspective, think of it’s use for patient identification in healthcare, or as an added security feature to better protect smartphone access. Both of these environments are examples of places where biometrics is offered, but end users aren’t required to participate.

As a firsthand witness to the rapid growth of biometrics for patient ID in healthcare, I have visited hospitals where the technology is used and watched how patients have reacted when introduced to it. When presented with the option of using biometrics to protect their medical identities and ensure their safety throughout the care continuum with a clear understanding of how their information is protected, over 99% of patients voluntarily opt-in and enroll themselves.

Long considered the holy grail of deployment success and a positive return on investment (ROI), patient voluntary opt-ins are perhaps the single most important aspect of deployment success and points to the hope that, just like many other industries who have been entrenched in the use of biometrics for individual identification, the use of the technology to establish accurate identification in healthcare is now an important cog in overall widespread global adoption and acceptance. This point becomes an integral ingredient for hope that other hospitals and health systems around the world may follow suit and continue the growth and expansion of biometrics for patient ID by allaying any fears that patients won’t want to participate. They are indeed participating, in staggering numbers.

When framing your own perceptions of biometrics for individual identification, ask yourself whether the motivation to use it is commensurate with your own personal goals of ensuring identity protection for yourself and your family. In the case of patient identification in healthcare and in light of the millions who are subjected to medical errors and ID theft each year, is biometrics your best shot and the most effective way to protect yourself? Over 99% of patients where the technology is currently used say yes.

There is great hope for an expansion of biometrics for patient ID in healthcare.

Jeremy has worked in the biometrics industry for nearly a decade and has real world experience with fingerprint, palm vein, finger vein, iris and face recognition technologies. He currently oversees the RightPatient™ Healthcare division of M2SYS Technology, including sales, business development and project management. Before taking over the Healthcare unit, Jeremy spearheaded the growth of the core biometrics division, working closely with Fortune 500 clients like ADP, JP Morgan & BAE Systems to implement biometrics in large identity management projects.