Why Experience Matters When Selecting a Biometric Patient Identification Solution

December 4, 2015/6630 views / 0 Comments/in Biometric Hardware, BLOG, Future of Biometrics, Health Care, Patient Identification /by John Trader

The following post was submitted by Jeremy Floyd, Healthcare Director with RightPatient®

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” — Albert Einstein

Investing in health IT technology is a complex process which often involves evaluating multiple vendor solutions before ultimately deciding to make an investment. Steering committees and hospital evaluation teams take meticulous care to carefully assess the pros and cons of each solution to determine the best fit for their organization. One key vendor attribute that should be included in the evaluation process is experience. However, the reality of health IT today is that a large swath of health IT technologies are brand new, borne from the massive shift to digital healthcare spurred by the HITECH Act and Meaningful Use. Consequently, many vendors don’t have a substantial track record of experience in their speciality to evaluate because their solutions are brand new and only recently entered the market.

Evaluating experience is an important factor when deciding which biometric patient identification solution to implement.

I am often asked at trade shows and conventions about our experience in biometrics and how that shaped our strategy when we developed RightPatient® – the healthcare industry’s most comprehensive patient identification solution that increases patient safety, reduces costs, improves the quality of care, and enhances the patient experience. People want to know how our past experience and long track record in global biometric identification management projects helped shape our patient identification platform and what lessons we learned from other verticals where biometrics is used that we were able to incorporate into RightPatient®. My answer is always the same…experience in biometrics matters. A lot. Here’s why:

— Experience breeds innovation – When we embarked on the journey to develop a biometric patient identification solution for the healthcare industry, we carefully studied our past experience with biometric deployments in different verticals (border control, voter registration, law enforcement, workforce management, national ID, financial services, single sign-on) to determine what we could learn from their success that would be integral ingredients for RightPatient®. The ability and flexibility to innovate jumped out as one of the most important deployment characteristics we knew RightPatient® needed – in other words, the ability to innovate as a patient identification vendor by consistently improving our platform to addresses the dynamic, and constantly evolving needs of the industry.

For example, we identified the growing concern from hospital staff about the need to develop a wireless camera to identify patients bedside, or in special situations (e.g. handicapped patients) – a device unencumbered by USB cables and free from the often crowded workstation on wheels (WOW). We listened to customer feedback, leveraged our technological expertise in biometrics, and developed a wireless camera with a sleek, modern design and touchscreen interface combined with fast photo capture and identification.

Innovation helps bring continuity to the fragmented healthcare market. It is the responsibility of any healthcare technology vendor to consistently cultivate new ideas that are a direct response to the evolving challenges healthcare systems face.

— Experience brings variety – The ability to offer a choice of biometric hardware modalities for hospitals to use is another great example of how our experience in biometrics reminded us that this is not a “one-size-fits-all” technology. Offering a choice of biometric modalities to use for patient identification is important because although most biometric hardware devices work reliably on a large percentage of the population, factors such as skin integrity, age, and ethnicity can negatively affect the ability of these devices to capture biometric attributes for 100% of the patient population.

In addition, the use of a single biometric modality for patient identification in the modern healthcare age ignores the reality that effective patient ID must be looked at holistically, and technology implemented simply must have the ability to identify patients at ANY point along the care continuum – whether that is in person at a hospital or in a virtual environment such as a telemedicine or using a patient portal. Instead of pigeonholing hospitals into using one modality, instead we offer a variety of modalities that can be used simultaneously to meet the new demands of accurate patient identification.

— Experience makes system integration seamless: 13 years of experience in biometrics has provided us with deep experience and expertise in system integration. Experience that taught us the importance of developing pre-built integrations of RightPatient® for various healthcare systems like Epic, Cerner®, Meditech, McKesson, and IBM Initiate® to becomes a seamless part of the provider workflow and maximize operational efficiency. Based on our track record developing biometric identification systems around the world, we understand that hospital IT staff is stretched thin with myriad responsibilities and commitments so we handle a majority of the pre-configuration and deployment logistics prior to go live that helps reduce the burden on hospital resources. Experience taught us that just like any other technology deployment, health systems who invest in biometrics for patient identification want a seamless experience that does not waste internal resources and a platform that instantly becomes a part of staff workflow.

Does experience matter when selecting a biometric patient identification vendor? Absolutely. Our dedicated team of scientific engineers and technologists deliver over 20 years of combined experience in healthcare, biometric technology, cloud applications, system integration, high-performance computing, and human factor engineering, ensuring that you will always be provided with innovative, scalable, and practical solutions that are the best possible fit for your needs.

Learn more about how we are leading the biometric patient identification market through creative innovation by visiting our Web site.

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.

New Podcast Addresses Importance of Single Sign-On (SSO) Tech in Healthcare

December 1, 2015/6713 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Podcasts, SSO /by John Trader

The proliferation of data breaches along with the rising pressure to more effectively safeguard protected health information (PHI) in healthcare is fueling growth in the adoption of single sign-on (SSO) solutions. Designed to relieve the burden of password management while providing a more convenient mechanism for users to access their computer or to the network, SSO solutions offer distinct advantages over traditional passwords including:

Providing an air-tight security mechanism to authenticate users gaining access to network resources
Reducing IT support costs associated with password management and help desk overhead
Minimizing the risk and cost of enterprise data theft from users inside the firewall
Supporting regulatory compliance (HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.) with improved security
Leveraging existing network infrastructure for faster deployment
Allowing users to quickly lock and unlock their computers with a single proximity card swipe or biometric scan

Our latest podcast with Ray Madril from Healthcast discusses the importance of adopting single sign-on (SSO) technology to increase patient safety and patient data security in healthcare.

To dig a little deeper into the importance and urgency of adopting SSO solutions in healthcare, we contacted Ray Madril of Healthcast and scheduled a podcast session to tap into his knowledge and covered the following topics:

An overview of the current health IT data security landscape and why establishing a secure single-sign-on credential is now considered mission-critical for the healthcare industry
The impact data breaches have on the healthcare industry and how a strong SSO solution prevents breaches and their damaging effects
How the implementation of an SSO solution impacts provider workflows and why is this important to patient safety
E-prescribing is changing healthcare by demonstrating that health IT has become a critical component for the efficient delivery of medicine and cost-effective patient treatments. What role does a secure SSO solution have to support efficient and secure EPCS?
The different form factors for SSO solutions and the impact of using biometrics such as a fingerprint with an SSO solution to ensure patient safety
How a successful SSO implementation increases patient safety

Healthcast is RightPatient’s exclusive SSO partner and we recently joined forces to help increase patient safety and provider stronger patient data access security.

Download a copy of the SSO in healthcare podcast and listen to it on the go! Have a friend or colleague that you feel would benefit from the podcast on adopting SSO for stronger data security in healthcare? Please forward them the link.

Have an idea for a podcast? Submit your entry to: jtrader@rightpatient.com along with a suggested guest for the topic.

Why Epic EHR Seamless Integration is Important

November 30, 2015/9318 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Partnerships, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

The EHR Battle Heats Up

When the HITECH Act was signed into law in 2009 creating financial incentives to promote and adopt health information technology, few people outside of the healthcare industry could probably grasp the importance and impact this law would have on vendors offering electronic health record (EHR) systems. Back then, we as patients were excited at the prospect that healthcare was finally stepping out of the middle ages and into the modern era of record keeping, our minds popping with optimism about how dumping paper for electronics was going to revolutionize medicine and open new doors to improve both individual and population health. We never would or could have imagined the intense complexities of implementing these EHR systems and the heated rivalries they would create that seem to stifle progress and impede value. Akin perhaps to kids playing in a sandbox, the rivalries and intense competition between these vendors is increasing.

RightPatient® seamlessly integrates into the Epic EHR system to maximize operational efficiency.

Over 85% of hospitals across the country have adopted some form of EHR to qualify for Meaningful Use however, many have switched EHR vendors citing insurmountable functionality difficulties, poor usability and design, and a lack of adequate training and support as some of the main reasons to make a change.

What we as healthcare consumers have learned throughout the EHR journey is that some EHR systems are skilled at handling certain functions, while others are not. Some EHR platforms support interoperability more than others. Certain EHR providers are well known for their outstanding support capabilities and some can be difficult to work with.

EHRs are not a single flavor, they all come with their strengths and weaknesses and each has developed their own “personality.”

Our EHR Barometer

One important characteristic is the ability for our biometric patient identification solution to seamlessly integrate with an EHRso that it becomes a consistent and uninterrupted part of staff workflow. Our biometric patient ID platform seamlessly integrates with Epic’s EHR system to help ensure an efficient and accurate authentication process without having to toggle to a separate application that can cause workflow interruptions and lost productivity. Seamless integration of the RightPatient® biometric patient identification solution with the EPIC EHR system also helps save precious time during patient registration to improve the patient experience.

In addition, the ability to capture a patient’s photograph during registration and then display that photo alongside the patient’s Epic EHR adds value to the identification process by providing fast two-factor authentication without having to leave the Epic platform. Patient registration staff and clinicians along the care continuum are immediately greeted with the patient’s photo once their Epic EHR is accessed for fast, accurate identification to prevent unnecessary medical errors.

The ability to seamlessly interface with Epic’s EHR platform is a distinct advantage for establishing accurate patient identification anywhere along the care continuum. By utilizing various biometric credentials, RightPatient® is built to offer accurate and secure patient identification no matter where an Epic patient attempts to access protected health information (PHI) or medical services, even in virtual environments. This is a key factor to ensure patients are safe, their PHI is safeguarded, and healthcare facilities are administering care or releasing information to the correct individual.

Conclusion

RightPatient® has the unique ability to seamlessly interface with the Epic EHR system and provide staff the ability to perform accurate patient identification at any point along the care continuum without ever leaving the platform. Key to ensuring smooth and efficient workflow and to maximize operational efficiency, seamless integration of a biometric patient identification solution with Epic’s EHR system should be an important factor if you are considering an investment.

RightPatient® Prevents Healthcare Fraud at University Health System

November 24, 2015/8593 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Comments On Recent Biometric News Stories, Health Care, Iris Recognition, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

Healthcare Fraud Jeopardizes Patient Safety and Raises the Cost of Care
Emergency Departments (ED) can be subjected to healthcare fraud from individuals without insurance seeking care, especially those with manageable chronic conditions. These patients often go to hospital EDs because they don’t have access to any source of care and in a large number of cases, attempt to defraud the healthcare system by providing different names, dates of birth, or other demographic information during registration.

Hospital patient access staff on alert for healthcare fraud often must strike a tricky balance of ensuring a patient receives timely care with the need to identify and prevent these individuals from illegally obtaining medical services that could raise liability and possibly harm the patient.

University-Health-Care-stopped-healthcare-fraud-in-the-ED-with-RightPatient

Through the use of photo biometrics, the University Health System was able to catch a patient attempting to commit healthcare fraud in the ED.

Patients who may be trying to defraud the system can raise the cost of care for all of us with most of the cost to treat these individuals passed on to insurance providers that raise premiums to subsidize care provided to the uninsured. It’s a persistent problem in healthcare that jeopardizes patient safety.

Medical Identity Theft and Healthcare Fraud are Persistent Patient Safety Problems in Healthcare
The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) estimates that the financial losses due to health care fraud are in the tens of billions of dollars each year. The Ponemon Institute released a study earlier this year that reported a 21.7% increase in medical identity theft cases since the previous year’s study.

A costly and often complex and time consuming issue to resolve, healthcare fraud and medical identity theft often financially decimate victims and healthcare institutions and can have a ripple effect that negatively impacts provider reputation. Add to that evolving patient expectations that healthcare providers are taking the necessary steps to protect their identities and ensure the privacy of their protected health information (PHI), and it’s clear that this is a festering problem in the industry that deserves immediate and swift preventative action.

Implementing Biometric Patient Identification to Identify Potential Healthcare Fraud

When University Health System staff sat down to address the problem of healthcare fraud and began to assess patient authentication technology options that had the potential to prevent it, they decided to deploy RightPatient® biometric patient identification as part of an overall strategy to increase patient safety, eliminate duplicate medical records, and prevent medical identity theft and fraud throughout their network. Using photo biometrics as their preferred modality, University launched the RightPatient® patient identification system in the summer of 2015 at both hospitals in their network and began registering patients and linking their unique biometric credentials to a single electronic health record (EHR).

Through the use of photo biometrics, the University Health System was able to catch a patient attempting to commit healthcare fraud in the ED.

Thusfar, the deployment has been a resounding success, with over 99% of patients opting in to ensure the safety and privacy of their PHI. University placed a great deal of emphasis to ensure their staff understood why the RightPatient® solution was implemented and meticulously trained patient access personnel on how to properly use the system prior to launch.

Their efforts paid off.

Recently, a patient was registered through the ED in the RightPatient® system, and then returned to the same ED days later claiming a different date of birth and a different last name. Following hospital registration protocol, the patient access representative took the patient’s photo with an iris camera and the RightPatient® system immediately flagged the patient’s medical record and instantly notified staff that the patient had previously enrolled with their biometric credentials already linked to another unique EHR. University staff then realized that the patient was attempting to assume another identity and took action to prevent it.

Even if this patient had enrolled in the RightPatient® biometric patient identification system at another location within University’s network, they still would have been flagged as a potential fraud case if they returned to a different facility due to the fact that RightPatient® seamlessly integrated with University’s Epic EHR system and can be used at any point along the care continuum, regardless of the patient’s physical location within the network (RightPatient® can even be used to authenticate an identity on patient portals and mHealth applications!).

Conclusion

The persistent and dangerous problem of medical identity theft and healthcare fraud is a direct threat to patient safety but also has repercussions that impact many other facets of care delivery. Implementing modern patient identification technologies that have the unique ability to prevent healthcare fraud should be a key goal for any medical facility set on improving safety, lowering liability, and raising the quality of care. The University Health System case clearly demonstrates that RightPatient® deters medical identity theft and healthcare fraud throughout the care continuum by linking a patient’s unique biometric credentials to one medical record.

Thank you to the staff at University for allowing us to share this story with our community!

RightPatient® Helps Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital Fight Healthcare Fraud

November 17, 2015/7749 views / 3 Comments/in BLOG, Comments On Recent Biometric News Stories, Health Care, Iris Recognition, Patient Identification, Patient Matching, Patient Safety /by John Trader

Prescription Drug Abuse

Eliminating fraud is a pressing issue in healthcare that continues to threaten patient safety. The FBI states on their Web site: “With no signs of slowing down, healthcare fraud is a rising threat, with national health care expenditures estimated to exceed $3 trillion in 2014 and spending continuing to outpace inflation.” On average, healthcare fraud accounts for 10% of our nation’s annual healthcare expenditure.

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital recently used photo biometrics to prevent healthcare fraud.

One form of healthcare fraud seen in emergency departments at hospitals around the country is individuals attempting to commit identity theft in order to obtain prescription medication. With approximately 8.76 million people in the U.S. abusing prescription medication and the lion’s share of those medications coming from a doctor’s prescription, medical facilities are proactively stepping up their efforts to implement stronger patient identification safeguards to ensure that the problem is addressed. After all, many patients may not understand the health dangers and risks of someone stealing your identity and inaccurate health data being attributed to your medical record – it is extremely dangerous and could result in serious injury, even death should a clinician act on incorrect protected health data (PHI) in your medical record.

Just how bad is the problem of prescription drug abuse in the U.S.? Consider the fact that every day in the United States, 44 people die as a result of prescription opioid overdose. Fortunately, there are tools available to catch identity fraud at the point-of-service in hospitals before harm is done.

Using Photo Biometrics to Deter Healthcare Fraud

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital implemented the RightPatient® patient identity management solutionusing photo biometrics to help support patient safety, eliminate duplicate medical records, and prevent and deter medical identity theft. Recently, a patient arrived at the Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital emergency room seeking treatment for an injury that according to the patient had just occurred in the prior hour. The patient signed in under a fraudulent name, date of birth, address, invalid marital status, a disconnected phone number, invalid employment status, fraudulent emergency contact, and an invalid social security number. The patient proceeded with registration, and signed all admission paperwork under the fraudulent information.

RightPatient-stopped-healthcare-fraud-with-accurate-patient-identification

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital recently used photo biometrics to prevent healthcare fraud.

During the registration process, the registration clerk used the RightPatient® photo biometrics solution to enroll the patient since this was (according the patient) the first time they had ever been to the hospital. The RightPatient® system worked just as it was designed, sending the registration clerk an alert that indicated the patent had been previously enrolled and that their biometric credentials had already been linked to another unique electronic medical record, providing the medical record number the patient had been registered under.

The clerk was then able to access the medical record the patient had been previously registered under and after review, Hugh Chatham was able to see other visits for that same day in other clinic/practice locations. A decision was made to contact local authorities.

Thanks to the RightPatient® software and the efforts of this staff member, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital was able to securely identify the patient, avoid duplicate medical records, prevent identity theft and associated healthcare costs, and help maintain a safe environment for patients.

Conclusion

Encouraging healthcare facilities to implement safeguards that ensure accurate patient authentication through technologies such as photo biometrics has been our mission since we founded RightPatient®. We will continue to share our success stories with others to help educate and inform in the overall effort to remove fraud and increase patient safety in healthcare.

Have a story on how the use of biometrics prevented a potential case of healthcare fraud? Please share it with us in the comments!

Why Telemedicine Needs Secure Patient Identification

November 9, 2015/8937 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Data Integrity, Facial Reciognition, Future of Biometrics, Health Care, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

Telemedicine/Telehealth is growing….fast

It’s difficult to call telemedicine the shiny new object in healthcare, mostly because it’s origin can be traced back to the first half of the 20th century. In fact, the first people to use video communication for medical purposes were clinicians at the University of Nebraska who in 1959 established a two-way television setup to transmit information to medical students across campus, and five years later linked with a state hospital to perform video consultations. (source: http://evisit.com/history-of-telemedicine/)

The rising use of telemedicine services in healthcare demands a more holistic approach to accurate patient identification.

Since then, telemedicine has rapidly evolved as a trusted source of care, particularly for patients living in rural areas who traditionally have limited access to healthcare, and the industry is expected to reach 7 million patients worldwide by 2018, fueling an 18 percent growth rate by 2020. This is good news for a wide swath of key players in healthcare, especially providers who are already laser focused on advancing healthcare’s “triple aim” – improving the patient experience, improving population health, and reducing the per capita cost of care, plus telemedicine has proven to be a strong tool to increase patient engagement. Patients stand to benefit handsomely from advances in telemedicine too for its convenience and accessibility, quickly latching on to the “care when and where you want it” mantra of the technology.

Yet, for all it’s convenience and increased accessibility, healthcare providers should take caution on procedures in place to identify patient identities prior to administering telemedicine services. Advances in telemedicine combined with an influx of newly insured patients under The Affordable Care Act have undoubtedly spawned opportunities for patients to commit fraud by stealing or swapping identities to receive services they aren’t eligible for. Undoubtedly the issue of limited reimbursement continues to be a major barrier to the expansion of telehealth — shouldn’t providers pay more attention to adopting technology that establishes a concrete and indisputable audit trail for telemedicine services?

What can telemedicine healthcare providers do to increase patient identification accuracy and adopt a strategy that has the capability to address the need to ensure a patient is who they claim to be?

Telemedicine patient ID laws murky, differ from state to state

As is the case with administering a lot of other digital health tools in healthcare, rules and regulations are fragmented and differ from state to state. Some states like Maryland, Virginia, and New Mexicohave laws and regulations that facilitate the greater use of telemedicineyet others such as Texas are actively seeking to pass laws that restrict telemedicine services to only those patients who have previously seen a doctor.

Regulating telemedicine is a tricky endeavor in healthcare. Most healthcare providers (especially those in medically underserved, rural communities) want to see the expansion of telemedicine because of the potential gains in individual and population health plus increasing the convenience of healthcare delivery helps build patient loyalty and speciality physician access. Think about how much good will is built with chronically ill patients who don’t have to make a painful journey to the doctor’s office to receive care!

However, the potential risks of fraud and medical identity theft by telemedicine patients because of the apparent ease of assuming another person’s identity threatens to jeopardize patient safety and compromise patient data integrity which is essential to maintain in an era of increased interoperability and data sharing. Perhaps Alison Diana, formerly of Information Week, summed it up best by saying: “With multiple organizations providing their well-meaning suggestions, states following their own rules, and insurers taking various strategies, telehealth adoption is hampered by fear, uncertainty, and doubt.”

What’s clear is that telemedicine is yet another tool in a provider’s toolbox that deserves the same patient identification scrutiny and caution given to a face-to-face encounter. Health data security is an issue in healthcare that has evolved beyond brick and mortar identification scenarios and expanded to any point along the care continuum where a patient has access to data or care services. As President and CEO Russell Branzell and Board Chair Charles Christian of CHIME said, “As data exchange increases among providers, patient data matching errors and mismatches will become exponentially more dangerous and costly.” (source: http://www.globalmed.com/telehealthanswers/telehealth-data-security-and-a-national-patient-id/)

With the number of employers increasing employee telemedicine service offerings and the number of people now eligible for these services now estimated to be in the tens of millions, the healthcare industry has a vested interest to ensure 100% accurate patient identification.

Holistic patient identification is the new norm

The digital age of medicine has created a host of new patient touchpoints along the care continuum that require healthcare providers to reassess their patient identification policies to ensure that patients are safe, treatment is accurate, protected health information is attributed to the correct medical record and fraud does not cause medical errors that could increase provider liabilities. The conundrum for healthcare providers is identifying a patient identification technology that has the capability to provide accurate patient identification no matter where a patient is along that care continuum and can flexibly be used at ANY touchpoint, regardless if it’s virtual or physical.

What’s interesting about the explosion of these new patient touchpoints and accessibility is that provider focus (justifiably) is usually targeted on technology, compliance, and reimbursement — all important components to ensure success. For example, articles prognosticating about what telemedicine needs to succeed rarely address adopting stricter patient identification technology to protect both patient and provider. However, our field research demonstrates that healthcare providers are increasingly paying closer attention to perhaps the most essential element of any digital health tool, the absolute necessity of ensuring accurate patient identification prior to administering care.

When it comes to accurate patient identification, telemedicine should not be treated any differently than, say, access to a patient portal or a physical trip to a doctor’s office. Holistic patient identification accuracy protocols that have the flexibility to be used in different capacities but ultimately to achieve the same purpose — ensuring patient identification accuracy and patient data integrity no matter when or where a patient seeks access to medical information or services.

Photo biometrics a perfect fit for patient ID in telemedicine

One patient identification technology surging to meet the demand for holistic patient identification in healthcare is biometrics. The use of biometrics for accurate patient identification in healthcare offers immediate, sustainable benefits (increases in patient safety, reductions of duplicate medical records, elimination of fraud) but what often goes unnoticed are broader, tangential advantages that can be applied to new patient touchpoints along the care continuum.

For example, a healthcare provider using photo biometrics for patient identification in healthcare can ensure accurate patient identification at the point of service then have the ability to verify that same patient’s identity through a portal, or prior to a telemedicine session using facial recognition. Hospital re-admission reduction provides an excellent example of a tangential benefit biometrics delivers to the healthcare industry. By ensuring the accuracy of a patient’s identity during a home health visit or telemedicine session (key components to reduce re-admits), healthcare providers can administer accurate, timely patient care that helps reduce the possibility of a re-admission which significantly adds to the cost of care and can result in Medicare reimbursement reductions.

Biometrics for patient identification offers another distinct advantage to telemedicine — an indisputable audit trail. Healthcare providers can rest assured that they now have a concrete list showing which patient accessed telemedicine services and what day and time they received the services. In this era of shifting regulations and evolving legislation, healthcare providers who implement photo biometrics for patient identification are at a distinct advantage over those that may rely on more antiquated methods to verify patient identities.

Although the use of photo biometrics for holistic patient identification across the care continuum is a new concept in healthcare, more providers understand its value and are exploring the use of this technology.

Is patient identification for telemedicine services a concern for you? What specific challenges do you face?

Leave us a comment below!

Takeaways from the 2015 NE NAHAM Regional Conference – “Improving the Patient Experience”

October 27, 2015/6937 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Events/Conferences, Iris Recognition, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

David Cuberos, Enterprise Sales consultant with RightPatient®, poses with Bryan Marcotte from Baystate Health, winner of the gift card door prize at the 2015 NE NAHAM regional conference.

The following guest post was written by David Cuberos, Enterprise Sales Consultant with RightPatient®

The time that we spend meeting with patient access professionals in the field is important to us. It’s an opportunity for our team to better understand core patient access functions/workflow and how these critical front line staffers help mold the patient experience as a first point of contact in what can often be a long, complex journey through the healthcare system. Our strong support for the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) and their regional chapters is a key relationship — instrumental to our product and service design and the ability for us as healthcare software vendors to deliver a solution that meets the dynamic needs of these healthcare professionals and moves the patient safety needle in a positive direction.

Last week, we had the opportunity to meet with patient access professionals from the northeast region of the U.S. to discuss the patient access professionals’ impact on the patient experience. We learned a lot about challenges faced by patient access staff, how it impacts workflow, and what new technology solutions are available to help meet the shifting and often complex demands of this position.

We also had the opportunity to discuss the ongoing conundrum of achieving accurate patient identification with show attendees and display our biometric patient identification solution that helps to increase patient safety and eliminate duplicate medical records/overlays and prevent medical identity theft and healthcare fraud. This was an ideal environment for us to not only help educate attendees on the value of implementing a patient identification solution, but it also provided us the opportunity to clear up misunderstandings about how this technology operates in a healthcare setting. As we do at all events, we learned a great deal about what types of questions healthcare professionals have about this technology and walked away with some key takeaways:

1. Retinal scanning and iris recognition are two different biometric technologies: This is a recurring misunderstanding we consistently see wherever we go. Due to the fact that both retinal scanning and iris recognition use the human eye for identification, most people believe that the technology is the same. In fact, the two are very different – explained in this blog post we wrote that breaks down the differences between iris recognition and retinal scanning.

2. Patient acceptance of iris recognition is extremely high: Some believe that using the iris as a unique identification credential can invoke patient trepidation to register their biometrics as a way to protect their identity and ensure accurate treatment throughout the care continuum. However, when healthcare staff observes the iris camera in person, they realize that it is perhaps the least invasive biometric modality because it simply takes a high-resolution digital photograph of the patient and can identify them in less than three seconds. Our field research supports patient acceptance of iris recognition for identification, with over a 99% acceptance rate.

3. Proper due diligence of biometric patient ID vendors is critical: Did you know that not all biometric matching types support the elimination of duplicate medical records or have the ability to prevent medical identity theft and healthcare fraud in real-time? Are you concerned about implementing a contact dependent biometric modality for patient identification that may jeopardize hospital infection control policies or require additional investments in a cleaning solution or wipes after each use? Does a biometric identification system seamlessly integrate with your electronic health record system to accurately authenticate patients from any touchpoint along the care continuum? Does your biometric patient identification solution have the ability to secure remote access to protected health information (PHI) from patient portals and/or mHealth apps?

These are all important to ask when evaluating biometric patient identification vendors but our experience is that many hospitals aren’t asking the right questions.

4. Hospital resources to resolving duplicate medical records are staggering: We continue to be amazed at the number of hospital staff dedicated to resolving duplicate medical records. In fact we spoke with a few attendees who mentioned that they have “teams of people” dealing with duplicate medical record clean-up. Although we can’t understate enough the importance of maintaining clean data, we have longed believed that implementation of modern patient identification technologies that have the ability to not only clean a master patient index (MPI), but sustain the integrity of the data moving forward. The key to preventing duplicate medical records is implementation of technology that can accurately identify patients no matter where they are along the care continuum.

5. Patient experience can be boosted through the use of biometric patient identification technology: Patients pay close attention to their experience at a medical facility. Patient knowledge of the negative effects of duplicate medical records and medical identity theft has increased their empowerment to seek services at facilities where their identities are protected. Implementing a biometric patient identification solution to protect patient identities invokes the emotion that medical facilities care about safeguarding patient safety and privacy.

Understanding how to improve the patient experience in healthcare requires careful examination of processes and workflow that bring convenience and demonstrate a genuine interest in protecting patient identities. We continue in our mission to provide the most comprehensive and holistic patient identification solutions available to help improve the patient experience in healthcare.

A special shout out to Bryan Marcotte from Baystate Health as the winner of the gift card door prize. Congratulations Bryan!

How can we help you to improve the patient experience at your medical facility?

David Cuberos is an Enterprise Sales Consultant with RightPatient® helping hospitals and healthcare organizations realize the benefits of implementing biometrics for patient identification to; increase patient safety, eliminate duplicate medical records and overlays, and prevent medical identity theft and healthcare fraud.

Improving Mobile Patient Identification with Wireless Technology

October 21, 2015/8042 views / 0 Comments/in Biometric Hardware, BLOG, Data Integrity, Future of Biometrics, Health Care, Mobile, Patient Identification, Patient Matching, Patient Safety /by John Trader

Patient Identification isn’t Cookie Cutter

You know the drill. A trauma patient is whisked into the emergency room bypassing the normal registration process to receive immediate care. Despite the patient’s condition, you as a patient registration representative are still responsible for establishing the patient’s identity, verifying their insurance eligibility, and ensuring that services rendered are allocated to the proper electronic medical record so the hospital can maintain high levels of data integrity and secure accurate revenue cycle compensation. Or, perhaps a handicap or disabled patient arrives at your facility and you may have to adjust normal registration procedures to compensate for their condition which may involve approaching the patient in the waiting room instead of asking them to approach you.

Particularly in emergency situations, wireless biometric patient identification devices offer convenience and portability to ensure patient safety.

The following post was submitted by Brad Marshall, Enterprise Development Consultant with RightPatient®

Whatever the case may be, some hospitals that have implemented biometrics for patient identification now have the ability to use a wireless camera to identify a patient at bedside or in-person, adding registration flexibility and removing the need to deal with the often cumbersome tangle of wires, USB cables, and devices on computers on wheels (COWs) or workstation on wheels (WOWs). These hospitals understand that wireless, portable patient identification offers distinct advantages to quickly identify patients with special conditions without the restrictions of a USB connection that may limit mobility and waste valuable time.

The Flexibility of Free Standing Patient Identification in ED or Bedside

The ability to quickly, easily, and accurately identify patients in emergency situations can often be the difference between life and death. Think about identifying an unconscious or unknown patient who arrives in the Emergency Department (ED) with a long medical history that includes medication allergies or important pre-existing conditions. Treating a patient in the absence of this critical health data not only endangers their health, but it presents a huge liability to the hospital should something go wrong based on missing or incomplete information. Not to mention that fact that in healthcare, especially in emergency situations, seconds matter.

Patient registration staff and clinicians both need the convenience and portability of a wireless biometric patient identification device that can be used to quickly determine a patient’s identity at any physical touchpoint along the care continuum. Think for a moment about the importance of verifying a patient’s identity at bedside. Accurate patient identification is not only an important safety protocol, but it also offers a variety of other benefits including:

Cost reductions by eliminating unnecessary or repetitive diagnostic testing or procedures
Reduction of mistakes during treatment that could result in hospital liability
Efficient organization of supplies, medications, and specimens

Innovative wireless patient identification devices increase productivity by saving time without compensating accuracy during the registration process. Characterized by their mobility and efficiency, these devices are configured to seamlessly communicate with biometric patient identification systems integrated with electronic health record (EHR) platforms to ensure 100% accuracy.

Conclusion

Wireless devices are revolutionizing patient identification in healthcare by combining the speed and accuracy of biometrics with a convenient and portable design that eliminates the frustration of maneuvering cumbersome COWs and WOWs and the restrictions of USB connected devices. Specifically designed to ensure patient safety, lower hospital liability, and strengthen and sustain patient data integrity, wireless patient identification devices almost seem to be a “must have” for any hospital that is vested in ensuring the highest quality care, especially amid challenging conditions.

Interested in learning more? Drop us a note and we will be happy to set up a no obligation demo to show you firsthand how these devices operate, and provide more details about the advantages.

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.

Bethesda Health Implements Iris Biometrics for Patient Identification

October 13, 2015/6572 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Comments On Recent Biometric News Stories, Health Care, Iris Recognition, Patient Identification, Patient Safety /by John Trader

Excited to announce that another hospital system has implemented our biometric patient identification solution using iris biometrics to help raise patient safety standards, safeguard patients from medical identity theft and fraud at the point of service, and prevent the creation of duplicate medical records.

Bethesda Health becomes the latest hospital system to implement the RightPatient® biometric patient identification solution using iris recognition.

After carefully evaluating several biometric patient identification solutions, Bethesda Health chose to deploy iris biometrics due to it’s non-contact, hygienic form factor which supports hospital infection control initiatives plus, implementation of RightPatient® poises Bethesda Health to eventually extend the use of the technology to any patient touchpoint along the care continuum that requires patient identification accuracy to ensure optimal outcomes. This is critical foresight by Bethesda staff who recognized that accurate patient identification in the new healthcare paradigm extends far beyond in or outpatient registration within their facilities and should now be addressed holistically by providing secure and accurate patient ID at any point along the care continuum where patients have access to medical care or sensitive personal health information (e.g. patient portals, mHealth apps, home health, etc.).

We welcome Bethesda Health as a trusted partner in the effort to increase patient safety, reduce duplicate medical record rates, eliminate medical identity theft, improve revenue cycle efficiency through the use of our biometric patient identification platform using iris recognition.

For more information on the deployment, please visit the news release section of our Web site.

Learn more about the advantages of using biometrics for patient identification by visiting the Resources section of our Web site.

New Podcast Shines Spotlight on The Patient Safety Movement in Healthcare

October 12, 2015/5634 views / 0 Comments/in BLOG, Patient Safety, Podcasts /by John Trader

We interviewed Jim Bialick, President of The Patient Safety Movement to discuss the topic of patient safety in healthcare.

Patient safety is a topic intertwined with so many policies and procedures in healthcare, many considering it to be the “cornerstone” to deliver quality care. After all, any healthcare organization can be equipped with the latest and most cutting edge care delivery technologies and staff with deep experience in healthcare delivery, but easily fail to recognize the impact on providing holistic patient safety, no matter where a patient falls along the continuum.

Many organizations have materialized with the sole purpose of advancing patient safety in healthcare, but none perhaps more impactful or relevant than The Patient Safety Movement, a Foundation focused on collaborating and breaking down information silos that exist between hospitals, medical technology companies, the government, and other stakeholders that enourages the sharing of data that can identify at-risk patients before they’re in danger and provides specific, actionable solutions that healthcare professionals can implement today to help realize the goal of zero preventable deaths by the year 2020.

We had the pleasure of interview Jim Bialick, President of the Patient Safety Movement for first hand insight on their goals and mission, information about their forthcoming Patient Safety Summit in January 2016. Plus, we had the chance to ask Jim his opinion on the use of biometrics for patient identification in healthcare, the state of patient data integrity in healthcare, and insight into the impact of duplicate medical records. Here is a list of questions covered during our podcast with Jim Bialick and The Patient Safety Movement:

1. What can you tell us about The Patient Safety Movement mission and goals? What steps are you taking and what accomplishments have been realized since you began the movement?
2. I noticed that the Patient Safety Movement is sponsoring the “Patient Safety Movement Foundation Innovation Competition” to encourage advocates to submit innovations to advance the goal of zero preventable deaths by 2020. What can you tell us about the motivation behind creating this award and how you feel it will advance the patient safety initiative?
3. Talk to me for a minute about the upcoming Patient Safety, Science, and Technology Summit in January 2016. What is the significance of this event, why should people attend, and what one message do you hope attendees walk away with?
4. Improving and sustaining patient data integrity in healthcare has gained strong momentum due to its effect on the ability of clinicians to provide accurate, cost effective care to a patient. Due to the increase in patient touchpoints (portals, mHealth apps, kiosks, smartphones) from the rapid digitization of healthcare that provide new ways to access personal health information and receive services, what additional patient safety concerns have you worried that could potentially undermine patient data integrity?
5. It’s often said that accurate patient identification in healthcare is one of the key pillars of protecting patient safety throughout the care continuum. Considering the fact that many healthcare organizations still rely on outdated and ineffective patient matching methodologies, what new patient identification technologies do you see as promising to improve patient identification accuracy and patient data integrity?
6. The growth of biometrics for patient identification presents an opportunity for healthcare organizations to modernize authentication protocols to improve patient safety, eliminate duplicate medical records, and prevent medical identity theft and fraud at the point of service. We recently conducted a survey of 1,067 patients about infection control policies in healthcare and preferences regarding biometric technology and found that 70% prefer a non-contact device. Based on your experience, why do you think this is the case? If evaluating a contact dependent device for patient ID, what would providers need to consider in terms of hygiene and infection control? What are the patient safety risks of using a contact dependent vs. non-contact biometric modality (e.g. palm vein vs. iris recognition) for patient ID in healthcare from an infection control perspective?
7. In The Patient Safety Movement mission statement, you talk about “breaking down the silos” in healthcare. Can you please explain your interpretation of “breaking down the silos” and why do you feel this is an important component to advance the initiative? What distinct advantage does coalescing the fragmented and disparate entities in healthcare have to advance patient safety in healthcare?
8. Why are hospitals allowed to operate under the radar with issues such as duplicates and overlays that pose such a significant risk to patient safety? Who governs this and why isn’t such an industry-wide epidemic made more public so that patients and regulators are made aware? Should there be an industry level of transparency where it is mandated that a hospital’s exposure to such issues is made public, constantly monitored, penalized and regulated?

For a full version of the podcast, please click here.

Our thanks to Jim for his time and wisdom on the topic of patient safety in healthcare! Follow The Patient Safety Movement on Twitter, and please “like” their Facebook page.

Have an idea for a podcast? Drop us an email at: jtrader@rightpatient.com! For a full list of our podcast library, please visit our podcast page.

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