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RightPatient-ensures-patient-protection-during-telemedicine-sessions

4 Practices Regarding Telemedicine That Enhance Patient Protection

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COVID-19 is a phenomenon that will impact us for years to come, if not decades. It has shaken the entire world to its core and has changed everything we know. COVID-19 affected our daily lives, changed the way we interact with others, and made masks as well as sanitizers crucial necessities. Since many of the COVID-19 patients required urgent care, the US healthcare system had to come up with other ways for hospitals to serve non-COVID-19 patients without exposing them to the virus. Fortunately, tailor-made solutions already existed – telehealth and telemedicine being the biggest players. As a result, hospitals have been diverting a significant portion of their non-critical patients to virtual sessions – changing healthcare and the patient experience forever. That being said, let’s explore what the patients think about telehealth, what experts are saying about it, and how to ensure patient protection while improving quality and safety in healthcare facilities.

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How telemedicine came into play

Since the novel coronavirus hit the US, it has been overwhelming healthcare providers, their frontline teams, and virtually everyone who is involved in the caregiving process. Due to capacity restrictions and patient safety concerns, caregivers had to redirect at least one-third of their less critical patients to telemedicine. Naturally, its usage shot up significantly in the beginning, and while it has been declining for some time, it is expected to increase as COVID-19 cases are once again rising. The bottom line is that telemedicine and telehealth are here to stay, although some issues need to be addressed.

Let’s take a look at what over a million end users, i.e. patients, think of telemedicine, according to a recent survey by Press Ganey.

Patients’ perceptions regarding telemedicine

The first thing to highlight is that while most patients do appreciate the convenience telemedicine offers, it has a lot of wrinkles to iron out to make it seamless and more effective.

The good things

While many patients were being exposed to virtual visits for the first time, they did find it satisfactory. Many even said that they were likely to give good ratings to their caregivers after virtual visits, just as much as they would during inpatient ones. Telemedicine could successfully lead to a bond between the patient and the physician, and many patients felt that their physicians were more attentive during these virtual sessions. A patient even noted that during inpatient visits doctors would be looking at their computer screens anyway, which felt like they were distracted. During the virtual visits, however, the doctor had direct eye contact with her. 

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What needs improvement

While telemedicine itself is good, the process and ease of getting to virtual visits are not – these need significant improvements, especially with scheduling sessions and making audio or video connections.

However, there are a few more issues that require attention which, according to experts, might hamper patient protection – let’s dive in.

Experts are worried about patient protection

Healthcare data breaches have been increasing significantly, and are occurring even now. Moreover, the risk of a breach is higher during virtual sessions, ultimately endangering patient data. Healthcare providers need to strengthen their security measures and ensure patient protection during virtual visits. With restrictions eased regarding communication tools like Zoom, Skype, and similar utilities, as well as hackers turning their attention to virtual sessions, patient data security is at more risk than ever.

Practices that improve patient protection during virtual visits

Provide training and ensure awareness 

There is nothing more effective than raising awareness among your employees, and the best way to do this is by providing them with training. Clearly explain to them the consequences of data breaches, and also provide them with sessions where they can learn about the do’s and don’ts regarding emails, opening links, accessing patient data, etc.

Follow practices that safeguard patient information

Encrypting data might be the oldest trick in the book, but it can make it difficult for hackers to use the information.

A few practices must be followed to ensure patient protection during both virtual and inpatient visits:

  • Ensure that patient data is encrypted during rest and transmission.
  • Use reputed antivirus and firewall applications.
  • Use only verified and licensed software and keep them updated.
  • Restrict access to any unauthorized parties.

Use enterprise-level video conferencing platforms

While hospitals initially got the chance to use tools such as Zoom, Skype, Meet, etc., these have added cybersecurity risks. Telemedicine has grown significantly now, with many enterprise-grade platforms available that have enhanced security out of the box. While deploying them might be costly, they can be critical for ensuring patient protection during virtual sessions, eliminating the chance of hackers gaining access during these sessions.

Use solutions to mitigate risks and ensure patient protection

While there are many practices and strategies available that might strengthen cybersecurity efforts, hackers always come up with plans that ultimately could result in data breaches. Moreover, not all caregivers can upgrade their security measures due to several factors, especially budgetary constraints. As a result, having a response plan to mitigate the risks and consequences is crucial. Also, while it might seem like data breaches are unstoppable, medical identity theft is not – it can be prevented with RightPatient.

RightPatient is a touchless biometric patient identification platform that uses patients’ faces to identify their records. Moreover, it is versatile enough to be used at any touchpoint across the facility – making it perfect for virtual visits.

After scheduling appointments, patients need to provide a personal photo and a photo of their driver’s license; RightPatient automatically extracts the data and compares the photos for a positive match, verifying identities remotely. New patients are provided with unique biometric credentials. If a fraudster attempts to assume the identity of the patient, the platform will red-flag them, preventing medical identity theft in real-time. 

During inpatient visits, enrolled patients only need to look at the camera – the platform runs a search to identify the patient and provides the correct medical record within seconds.

By doing so, RightPatient can prevent medical identity theft even after data breaches, protecting patient information, eliminating litigation costs, and mitigating the consequences.

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Patient experience in healthcare is vital for both hospitals and patients

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Patients are customers of the healthcare industry, and like conventional customers, they anticipate an improved patient experience – shorter wait times, accurate identifications, and more focus of physicians. However, emphasizing on patient experience is not only beneficial for the patients but also the health systems, as well. Let’s see how exactly this is true.

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There’s a common saying in the healthcare industry – healthcare is continuously evolving, and those serving the industry need to be on top of the situation by adapting to the situation. This means that if health systems do not adapt to technologies improving the patient experience, they will lag behind. Just like customers, patients can shift to other health systems offering the best patient experience possible.

Because of this, several experienced personnel in the healthcare industry agree on two things which are common nowadays, regardless of these technological advancements – patients are the core of their care strategies and health systems are focusing on positive patient outcomes and patient experience in healthcare.

The changing landscape 

As previously mentioned, the healthcare industry works almost like any other industry. Patients now have access to a massive amount of information with which they can make informed decisions regarding themselves or their close loved ones. Thus, patients have evolved according to the transformation of the healthcare industry. Thanks to digitization, they have become more knowledgeable, more informed, and are better prepared for decision-making compared to before. Patients interact with other sectors as well, daily, and from those interactions arise the expectations of superior customer (patient) experience from the healthcare industry.

How is the healthcare industry responding?

As the demands of the patients keep changing, many healthcare providers are tailoring their services accordingly to keep up with the formers’ expectations. Health systems are doing so by adopting the latest technologies available to meet the demands of the patients; for instance, using patient engagement apps to keep the patients connected and ensuring active participation from the patients’ ends and establishing loyalty among the patients in the process. This also generates in lower patient readmissions, as non-critical issues can be solved efficiently via the apps through communication between the doctors and patients, thus, better patient outcomes.

However, patient experience goes both ways. There have been multiple studies which refer to the positive correlation between patient experience and physician experience. The better the patient experience is, the better the physicians are motivated, as well. Also, physicians have had burnouts due to inefficiencies like clunky EHRs. The physicians reported that they would rather focus on their patients than look at the screen all day long and click the mouse a thousand times, which is the case every day for any given physician. Thus, removing such tedious tasks and improving patient experience can result in an overall better experience for all of those involved.

The multibillion-dollar question

There is another aspect of the patient experience which has been overlooked by many – patient misidentification. This is a massive problem of the healthcare industry, and the losses caused by it are unprecedented. Thus, it is aptly called a multibillion-dollar issue. However, it not only causes financial losses but also results in various degrees of problems for the patients, ranging from wrong treatment plans to even untimely deaths. Also, as previously mentioned, this is the aspect of healthcare which causes burnouts in the physicians – interacting with EHRs to identify patients, and sometimes it takes a long time to do so correctly.

Every day, we read an article about patient matching errors, how it impacts the patients, the health systems, and how big of a problem it is. Thanks to numerous studies, statistics, and facts, it is not sidelined anymore, as health systems are now clamoring for solutions to it. But is there an effective solution? There is, and it is called RightPatient. RightPatient is a biometric patient identification system which focuses on iris scanning to provide a safe, secure, and hygienic way to accurately identify the patients, as there is no necessity for physical contact and all the patient needs to do is look at the camera. Once a patient is registered in RightPatient, there are no chances for any duplicate records, as the data is linked to the EHR of the patient. RightPatient also seamlessly integrates with any significant EHR system and is effectively used by over a hundred hospitals to ensure patient safety, enhance the patient experience (which in turn improves the experience of all involved with patient identification), and cut losses caused by misidentifications.

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Photo Biometrics Patient Identification Testimonial – University Health Care System

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We always relish an opportunity to visit hospitals and healthcare organizations who have made the smart choice to adopt photo biometrics for patient identification. Who better to share their story about events and conditions that lead to their decision to invest in RightPatient® Cloud?

We had an opportunity to sit down with George Ann Phillips, Administrative Director, Revenue Cycle at University Health Care in Augusta, GA to ask her why the hospital decided to invest in photo biometrics to increase patient safety, reduce chart corrections, duplicate medical records, improve revenue cycle collections, and humanize health IT by linking the patient’s photo to their electronic health record (EHR). Prior to implementing RightPatient®, University’s situation was not much different than many other healthcare organizations – a desire to prevent duplicate medical records, improve patient safety, streamline registration, and improve the patient experience.

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After carefully evaluating RightPatient® against other biometric modalities, University decided that photo biometrics was a smarter investment and would help them to achieve their aforementioned goals. University staff liked the fact that by capturing the patient’s photo and storing it in the RightPatient® Cloud, they suddenly had the means to identify patients at any point along the care continuum – before portal login, during telemedicine sessions, and prior to administering medication or providing any clinical service. Clinicians immediately offered positive feedback to George Ann saying that having the patient’s photo linked to their medical record was an outstanding way to personalize their approach and gave them additional piece of mind to avoid any medical errors.

George Ann also pointed out that she was much more comfortable implementing photo biometrics because it supported hospital infection control policies and did not require the patient to touch any device to avoid the risk of contracting an illness or spreading germs. RightPatient® is the only biometric patient ID solution that is contactless and the only solution that truly has the ability to identify a patient no matter where they are along the care continuum. No other biometric identification solution can claim this.

University’s return on investment (ROI) has been strong since adopting RightPatient®:

  • 20% reduction in chart corrections
  • 99% patient acceptance (54,000+ patients enrolled so far)
  • Rapid deployment expansion to physician offices
  • Positive feedback from C-suite
  • Clinicians love seeing the patient’s photo
  • Streamlined patient registration
  • Improved patient experience

Take a moment to watch the short video here:

Thank you to George Ann Phillips and Beverly Bell from University for their assistance to make this video. Please share it with a friend or colleague!

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

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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.

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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.

biometric patient identificationJeremy 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.

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How to Choose the Right Biometric Modality for Patient ID in Healthcare

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The following post on patient ID in healthcare was submitted by Michael Trader, Co-Founder and President of RightPatient®

We are excited to announce the release of a brand new white paper entitled: Choosing the Most Effective Biometric Solution for Patient Identification in Healthcare (Assessing the characteristics and capabilities of biometric options). The white paper assesses the capabilities and limitations of fingerprint, palm vein, and photo biometrics (iris and facial recognition) for patient ID in healthcare.

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Misinformation and confusion surrounding biometric patient ID hardware modalities are cleared up in our latest white paper.

The journey to select the most suitable biometric modality for patient identification in healthcare should include an assessment of hardware capabilities and limitations. This white paper was written and published as an educational resource for healthcare organizations to develop a deeper understanding of device characteristics and limitations. Due to persistent misinformation about the ability of select biometric modalities to perform accurate patient ID in healthcare and confusion on the realities of real world results post implementation we feel that this white paper stands as an authoritative guide that should be included in any and all comprehensive due diligence of biometrics.

Over 14 years of experience in real world implementations of fingerprint, palm vein, and photo biometrics has provided us with a wealth of knowledge and research on how these modalities operate when deployed and an authoritative resource to determine which devices can deliver on the promise that effective patient ID solutions offer:

  • Elimination of duplicate medical records and overlays
  • Prevention of medical ID theft and healthcare fraud
  • Increasing and sustaining patient data integrity
  • Increasing patient safety
  • Providing accurate patient ID at ANY point along the care continuum

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Did you know that select biometric modalities covered in the white paper do not have the ability to accomplish some of these goals? We encourage you to contact us and request your copy of this important and informative white paper to provide a more thorough background and understanding of biometric patient identification realities versus marketing fluff.

We are confident that you will find value in our research and analysis based on a decade and a half of experience in the biometric identification management industry and extensive experience with all of the modalities covered in the white paper. Please click here to request a copy of the research report. 

How to Choose the Right Biometric Modality for Patient ID in HealthcareMichael 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.

using biometrics to identify the deceased

FingerSCAN DecedentID Found Cleaner & Faster in Identifying the Deceased

using biometrics to identify the deceased

The following guest post on the use of biometrics for identifying the deceased was submitted by Pranjal Mehta Sr. Digital Marketing Engineer with Big Market Research.

The FingerSCAN Decedent, recently introduced by WoVo Identity Solutions, promises a faster way to determine unknown decedents at a scene. Medical examiners and coroners have found the solution to be much cleaner compared to those available in the market, say experts at Big Market Research. Subject matter experts analyzing the industry size & share and growth opportunities of the healthcare biometrics industry reveal that by using a highly integrated biometrics fingerprint scanner from Watson, the FingerSCAN DecedentID can not only expedite but also simplify the complete identification process of a deceased individual. The equipment can identify the deceased within few hours rather than several days highlight the makers of FingerSCAN DecedentID. The is its ability to send alerts to the family members of the deceased faster makes the device highly capable.

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Biometric identification can help to identify deceased individuals.

Commenting on the latest innovation in the healthcare biometrics industry, Kathleen Erikson, the chief executive officer at the WoVo Identity Solutions, emphasized that she knew it from the very beginning that coroners as well as medical examiners were in need of highly affordable, mobile product that can enhance the entire identification process. She added “I had no idea that the benefits would extend beyond this so I’m very pleased and have plans for launching many more mobile apps to benefit various industry groups.”

The new device works wonder on commercial – of -the -shelf (COTS). Besides this, the FingerSCAN DecedentID also operates with Android and works efficiently with the mini fingerprint scanner from Watson. WoVo introduced the product for the first time at the Colorado Coroners Association Conference in June, 2016, following a pilot project where the device was tested. The device has definitely brought relief to many families who end up contacting the officials after a death is reported in a media. Moreover, the solution has proved advantageous for both, government officials and public.

Echoing his sentiments about the product Harris Neil, coroners at Denver Office of Medical Examiner said, “As the application has been moved to its current version, it’s actually possible for me to email a print card to the fingerprint technicians electronically from the scene and get an identity confirmation the same day.” FingerSCAN DecedentID is an FBI IAFIS – certified and has been approved with Appendix F approved. Furthermore, the fingerprint scanner has implemented a patented LES technology. These features make the device one of its kind biometric technology that serves the stringent image performance needs by FBI.

Today, technology advancements have played an eminent role in revolutionizing the healthcare biometrics industry. Manufacturers are focusing more on making the solution affordable to cut down on the healthcare service cost. With so much happening in the healthcare biometrics industry, FingerSCAN DecedentID brings a ray of hope when it comes to identifying a deceased and informing his or her family members.

Pranjal Mehta is a highly distinguished digital marketing specialist working actively in the Life Science segment at Big Market Research.

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Top 5 Questions For Biometric Patient ID Vendors

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Biometric patient ID solution deployments to increase patient safety, eliminate duplicate medical records, and prevent medical ID theft and healthcare fraud are spreading rapidly throughout the healthcare industry. More medical facilities are researching the implementation of biometric patient ID in response to the increased attention and negative downstream impact caused by misidentification and the push to achieve 100% patient ID accuracy in healthcare

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Learn the top 5 questions to ask when researching biometric patient identification solutions.

While the front end benefits of implementing biometrics for patient identification may be clear, what often may be slightly fuzzy is the back end technology of biometric patient ID systems and just what exactly the technology is actually capable of achieving. Biometric technology is not static, and depending on which modality a medical facility chooses, the ability to achieve some of the aforementioned benefits may be limited.

As a biometric vendor with over 14 years of experience in biometrics, cloud-computing, integration, and large-scale project implementations, we understand the technology and its capabilities and limitations. We know what certain biometric modalities are capable of, and are well positioned to offer educated recommendations on the best and most effective biometric technology for patient identification in healthcare. Unfortunately, many misunderstandings of biometrics exist that could influence decisions to adopt the technology to improve patient safety in healthcare.

Never fear! We are here to help make sense of biometrics for patient ID in healthcare by offering advice on the top 5 questions hospitals and medical facilities should be asking during the research phase of their due diligence to implement the most effective and sustainable solution. Here are our top 5 questions you should ask when researching biometric patient ID solutions:

  1. Does a patient have to physically touch a biometric hardware device to be enrolled and identified?

    Why this is important: 
    Patient hand hygiene is terrible. In fact, Dr. Lona Mody and her research team at The University of Michigan recently released a study that reported: “One-quarter of patients (24.1 percent) had at least one multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO), or superbug, on their hands when they checked in.” 

    Hospitals have a responsibility to ensure the cleanliness of any new devices introduced as part of the patient check-in or care process that require patient contact to support infection control protocols. The rise in awareness of the dangers that hospital-borne infections cause should call into question patient safety issues that contact-dependent biometric pose, especially in light of the dangers that MRSA, Ebola, and other germs and illnesses that can be spread by contact. Think about a patient who may be pregnant and not realize it who contracts an illness that jeopardizes the safety of themeselves and their child simply by touching a device that wasn’t properly cleaned? 

    Implementing contact-dependent biometric hardware requires medical facilities to ensure that the device is properly sanitized. Hospitals who see an average of 350,000 patients per year could be facing an extra $38,000 in sanitation expenses after implementing a contact dependent biometric hardware device. 

    The use of contact dependent biometrics can also have a negative impact on patient acceptance. Patients unwilling to touch a device will most likely decline to use the patient identification system. Since patient acceptance and participation is voluntary and the goal is to maximize their use of the technology to drive incremental value, this should be a concern for medical facilities.
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  2. Is the back end biometric technology based on one-to-many or one-to-few segmented searches?

    Why this is important: The only true way to prevent duplicate medical records and tangibly improve patient safety and patient data integrity through a biometric patient identification solution is to implement a system based on a one-to-many (1:N) search. Biometric patient ID systems based on a 1:N search compare a captured biometric template against ALL stored templates in the biometric database during enrollment.

    Alternatively, a one-to-few segmented search (1:Few) compares a captured biometric template against a portion of the total biometric database; hence, a credential (such as date of birth) needs to be provided prior to the biometric scan to determine which templates should be compared against. The biometric system would then compare the captured template against only those templates that share the same birth date.

    This is an extremely important question to ask when vetting biometric patient identification solutions. If the premise of implementing biometrics to identify patients is eliminating duplicate medical records, prevention of medical ID theft, and to improve patient safety, solutions based on a 1:Few search do not have the ability to deliver.

  3. Can the biometric patient ID solution recognize patients from any encounter end point?

    Why this is important: In the old days, healthcare delivery seemed much simpler. You get sick or suffer an ailment and drive to the doctor’s office or hospital. Treatment is rendered. You go home (or rehab if needed). However, modern healthcare and the digitization of care delivery has radically changed the complexion of how, when, and where we receive services. We now have the ability to login into patient portals 24/7 to view, read, or download data. Telemedicine visits allow us to receive care without every leaving the comfort of our couch. mHealth apps place medical advice, care services, and protected health information (PHI) data access in the palm of our hands. 

    These examples represent just a few of the new touchpoints along the care continuum that have blossomed in popularity witnessed by the digitization and personalization of healthcare. Although these examples shed light on the new reality of healthcare, accurate patient identification becomes no less important prior to accessing these new touchpoints. The problem is that not all biometric patient ID solutions have the ability to address accurate patient ID at every new touchpoint. Most are built and designed to handle patient ID in one venue and one venue only – face to face patient registration in brick and mortar environments.

    If achieving accurate patient ID prior to accessing sensitive PHI or administering services through a new touchpoint along the care continuum is just as important as accurate patient identification at the point of service, why would you want to invest in a solution not built on a centralized model for strong identification wherever a patient may be? 

  4. Does the biometric patient ID solution have the ability to instantly identify unconscious patients?

    Why this is important: Many hospitals and medical facilities like the idea that a biometric patient ID solution can identify unconscious or disoriented patients. It’s a big selling point and with good reason — patients who arrive unconscious or disoriented without identification or a family member present pose a serious risk. What if the patient is allergic to a medication? What if they have a pre-existing condition that could adversely affect or complicate treatment rendered?

    Certain biometric patient ID solutions have the unique ability to instantly identify unconscious patients but not unless they use 1:N back end searches (see #2 in this post). When seconds can mean life or death, you may not want to invest in a biometric patient identification solution using 1:Few segmented searches because then clinicians will have to guess a date of birth age prior to scanning the patient’s biometric credentials. Back end search limitations can delay the identification of an unconscious or disoriented patient. 

  5. What age groups are eligible to use the biometric patient identification solution?

    Why this is important: As mentioned earlier, a key metric to drive incremental value for any biometric patient ID solution is patient participation. Depending upon the back end biometric technology, not all patients are qualified to enroll in the system. Some biometric patient ID solutions recommend not to enroll patients under a certain age and others will require a larger investment in hardware to enroll younger patients who must then be repeatedly re-enrolled as they grow older and their biometric attributes change.

    Biometric patient ID systems exist to protect patients from the dangers of misidentification which include, but are not limited to:

    –duplicate medical records
    –overlays
    –medical identity theft
    –healthcare fraud

    Considering the fact that no patient is exempt from the risks that jeopardize their safety when not identified accurately, the post implementation goal should be to maximize patient enrollment, regardless of what age they may be.

    Did you know that children as young as pre-conception are in danger of being medical identity theft victims? Biometric patient identification systems that restrict enrollment based on age are not valuable. This is an important question to ask.

Investing in a biometric patient ID solution is an exercise in educating yourself about what these systems can and cannot accomplish. While no system is perfect or a panacea to solve all the problems of patient misidentification, achieving higher quality healthcare and improving patient safety are attainable goals that can be reached when the right solution is deployed. Be cautious when researching and make sure you are asking these 5 questions! 

thought leadership opportunities on patient identification in healthcare

Guest Blogging Opportunities

thought leadership opportunities on patient identification in healthcare

Part of any successful blog campaign is the ability to secure quality, third party guest bloggers to contribute their knowledge and wisdom on applicable topics. At RightPatient®, we are committed to educating our community through our blog content which covers the following topics:

— Biometrics for patient identification 
— Increasing patient safety in healthcare
— Impact of accurate patient identification on revenue cycle management (RCM)
— New biometric identification trends and topics
— Infection control
— Patient data integrity
— Health Information Management (HIM)
— Duplicate medical records and overlays in healthcare
— Healthcare fraud and medical identity theft

thought leadership opportunities on patient identification in healthcare

Interested in demonstrating your thought leadership on a topic related to patient identification in healthcare.

Some of our recent guest blog contributions include:

5 Big Indicators You Should Replace Your Revenue Cycle Management Solution
Infographic: Understanding and Preventing Hospital Acquired Infections

We consistently seek bright minds to contribute a guest post that covers any of these topics and continue our mission of educating our community and securing more attention to the critical and complicated topic of achieving 100% patient identification accuracy in healthcare

Interested in contributing a guest post on a topic related to patient ID in healthcare? Please drop us an email at: info@rightpatient.com and tell us your idea. We would enjoy the opportunity to work with you on publishing your content to demonstrate your thought leadership and expertise! We are happy to provide you with proper credit and a backlink to your Website. Please include a suggested image for the post and your byline in the draft.

Please note that guest bloggers are limited to one post every three months. Each submission must include:

  1. Original content (and creativity!)
  2. A licensed image to go with the post
  3. The author’s byline

We look forward to the opportunity to work with you on publishing your content to demonstrate your thought leadership and expertise! We are happy to provide you with proper credit and a backlink to your Website. (up to three backlinks are permitted, including the author’s byline).

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Patient Hand Hygiene Report Casts Shadow on Contact Dependent Biometric Patient Identification

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Patient Hands May Pose Greatest Threat to Hospital Acquired Infections

Is the heightened awareness on ensuring that doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff wash their hands as part of strict hospital infection control protocols missing an important element? According to a new research report published by NBC News, hospitals would be well served to address another important demographic inside a facility that could perhaps pose an even greater threat to patient safety: patients themselves.

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A recent NBC news article reported that patients carry superbugs on their hands raising concerns about whether contact dependent biometric patient identificaiton solutions support hospital infection control.

Researchers at the University of Michigan released details of a report that found “nearly a quarter of patients they tested had some sort of drug-resistant germ on their hands when they were discharged from the hospital…” The results support the theory that many healthcare experts have long asserted – patients are a major threat to spreading the germs of superbug infections. Researchers tested for a number of bugs, and reported:

“We swabbed the palm, fingers, around nails of patients’ hands. The tests were done when patients were admitted, two weeks later, and then once a month for the next six months.” (Source: http://nbcnews.to/1Xv5Rck)

The report goes on to say that patients frequently bring multi-drug-resistant organisms on their hands to a hospital environment and drew the conclusion that this increases the probability that these organisms are likely to be transmitted to other patients and healthcare workers. A concluding thought of the report was:

“Despite concerns raised by some recent studies, patient hand-washing is not a routine practice in hospitals to date.” (Source: http://nbcnews.to/1Xv5Rck)

Patient Hand Hygiene Raises Concerns About Contact Dependent  Biometric Patient Identification Solutions

As more hospitals investigate the use of biometrics for patient identification, they quickly discover that hardware options available include contact-dependent devices (fingerprint, palm vein) and non-contact devices (iris and facial recognition). Is it a healthcare organization’s responsibility to evaluate the hygiene risks of asking patients to physically touch a biometric device for identification? Do hospitals have an obligation to weigh the risks of hospital-acquired infections that could materialize from using contact-dependent biometrics for patient identification?

The NBC News report certainly calls into question the hygiene risks of deploying any type of technology solution that requires physical contact with a patient and could lead to the spread of germs and disease. Our hope is that hospitals assessing the use of biometrics for patient identification will take this into account and understand the risks involved when using contact-dependent devices and the responsibility to sterilize the device after each use if the decision is made to deploy this type of hardware.

There are many factors to consider when evaluating the use of biometrics for patient identification in healthcare. As we learned from the NBC News report, supporting hospital infection control to prevent the spread of germs and disease by using contactless biometric patient identification is important to consider.

Curious to know more about how to assess the differences in patient identification technology? Download our eBook for more details. 

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Patient Identification in Healthcare: The Year in Review

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2015 was another breakout year for the healthcare industry. From the transition to ICD-10 to advancements (or lack thereof) in interoperability to the expanding role of big data, 2015 demonstrated that healthcare continues to be in the throes of a major transition spearheaded by rapid digitization of the industry. While the jury is still out on exactly what type of lasting impact the events of 2015 will have, one area that stands out is the increased attention of establishing accurate patient identification.

There are simply too many downstream activities affected by accurate patient identification in healthcare to continue pushing the issue to the back burner of priorities, so we were quite pleased that 2015 seemed to be the year where the topic of accurate patient ID is finally getting the attention it deserves at the front of the line.

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Did accurate patient identification in healthcare receive more attention in 2015?

Here is a recap of notable and influential patient identification news and events that we identified as the most impactful in 2015:

#1 – CHIME flexes its clout. Big time.

  • The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) issues national patient ID challenge: Few things get people excited about an initiative than monetary incentives. In March of 2015, CHIME issued a challenge to help discover the most innovative solution to patient matching. The incentive? 

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Our take: CHIME’s national patient ID challenge is flat out smart. Dangling the financial carrot to the healthcare industry will surely spur innovative approaches to solving this issue and motivate health IT vendors to step up and address the challenge. Wholeheartedly backed by a coalition of influential organizations and individuals in healthcare, the challenge is poised to foster creative approaches to solving this dangerous and festering problem in healthcare.  

“We must first acknowledge that the lack of a consistent patient identification strategy is the most significant challenge inhibiting the safe and secure electronic exchange of health information. As our healthcare system begins to realize the innately transformational capabilities of health IT, moving toward nationwide health information exchange, this essential core functionality – consistency in accurately identifying patients – must be addressed. As data exchange increases among providers, patient data matching errors and mismatches will become exponentially more dangerous and costly.” (CHIME’s letter to Congress, May 7, 2014 http://bit.ly/1NVNvzk)

Our take: CHIME’s letter to Congress could be a watershed moment to finally push accurate patient identification into the forefront of priorities for the healthcare industry. Since CHIME is a very influential organization that Captiol Hill pays attention to, their public push to move forward on finding a viable solution to accurate patient identification in healthcare could prove to be the tipping point to solve this serious issue. In addition, at a Congressional hearing in June, CHIME publicly stated in a hearing convened by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) that advancing accurate patient identification in healthcare will, “radically reduce medical errors and save lives.”

#2 – AHIMA adds their voice and influence to push for a patient identification solution

Our take: As more well established and influential healthcare organizations lend their voices to solving the patient identification issue, the odds of discovering a solution will precipitously increase. Long viewed as a conscientious problem with too many complexities to solve, many healthcare professionals are finally coming to the conclusion that patient identification in healthcare is a single catalyst that directly influences the success or failure of many other initiatives in the industry: interoperability, health information exchange, and mHealth to name a few. We are pleased that AHIMA is more openly wielding its impact as a respected and trusted organization on such a critical issue in healthcare.

#3 – FHIR is great, but will interoperability never work without a national identifier

“There’s people out there who think that with FHIR we’ve solved all the problems. We haven’t, because we’re not authorized to solve lots of the problems” (Graham Grieve on frustrations of the moratorium Congress enacted to block funding research on a national patient identifier: http://bit.ly/1O3HbGK

Our take: Without sounding like a broken record or belaboring the point, for quite some time we have voiced concerns about advancing interoperability in healthcare without first addressing the need to establish accurate patient identification.  When you hear a quote like the one from Graham Grieve above from someone battling on the front lines of interoperability, it lends even more credence to the argument that it seems rather pointless and futile to continuing spending millions to advance interoperability in healthcare without having the ability to accurately identify patients in disparate health systems.

#4 – Biometric patient identification deployments continue to rise

  • More on this topic in next week’s post, but 2015 was a banner year for biometrics in healthcare. From single sign-on to access control to accurate patient identification, we observed a rapid increase in the deployment of biometrics at hospitals across the globe. Research firm Tractica forecasts that the nascent global healthcare biometrics market revenue will hit $3.5 billion in revenues by 2024, foreshadowing the tremendous potential of this technology and making it one of the most promising opportunities for the biometric industry.

What’s your take on the year on patient identification in healthcare? What moments or events stand out to you? Leave us a note in the comments section!

Next week: RightPatient® – The Year in Review — a short post of our major accomplishments during 2015. Stay tuned!