Related Items
Are Cards Finally a Good Bet?
February 2006
In 2003, executives at Queens (N.Y.) Health Network rolled out an initiative to use smart cards to fill in the information gaps at its two emergency departments.
The cards are "smart" by virtue of embedded microprocessors that can store 64 kilobytes of data, more than enough storage room to house patient identity, insurance and basic health information. To date, Queens Health has distributed more than 14,000 cards.
The smart cards have helped improve patient safety and treatment; user acceptance has been steady but slow, says Al Marino, CIO.
An unanticipated benefit, however, is how the initiative is helping open a dialogue with other New York-based provider organizations as they all explore the regional health information organization concept, the forerunner to the federal government's vision of national health information infrastructure. Smart cards may be the vehicle to link patients to data in disparate information systems as well as act as a portable data safety net in an emergency.
"The big focus now is RHIOs and information sharing," Marino notes. "Smart card technology is a basis to begin discussion about how to share data and build the infrastructure to do so."
Queens Health is a member of a small fraternity of health care organizations that have pursued smart card technology. For years the technology has been touted as an ideal solution to the challenge of making health information portable, but it has chronically been hampered by high costs, technological limits and lack of user acceptance.
Smart cards have occupied a very small corner in health care I.T., and it remains to be seen if the technology will ever be anything but a niche solution. But costs have dropped dramatically, and some organizations are finding the cards are an effective way to quickly link to patient information stored in electronic records and other information systems. As a result, some organizations are rolling out or planning large-scale smart card programs.
Reliability, portability questions
But even as organizations move forward with big smart card projects, some experts question whether the cards are the best delivery mechanism for data at the point of care, which has been a chief selling point for the technology. "Are we going be able to rely on information on a smart card, or will we be looking at data from an online database?" asks John Quinn, a senior executive in New York-based Accenture's health and life sciences consulting practice.
Potential pitfalls
Other drawbacks arise when comparing smart cards with Internet-based technology. Smart cards must be accessed by specialized readers deployed everywhere a patient might show up for care in a delivery system or a community. In addition, the issuer-not the patient- typically updates data stored on a smart card's microprocessor. "What is the source of data and how does it get to the card?" Quinn adds. "When you get down to it, the only way it will get updated is when the patient visits a provider."
Those obstacles, combined with high costs, have scared off many potential smart card users. However, the cost of smart cards has dramatically declined over the past few years. At one time, cards cost up to $15 each. Today, bulk purchases can push per-card cost under a dollar.
Lower costs make smart card technology competitive with traditional magnetic stripe cards, which can store less data, typically just an ID number.
The falling cost of technology and the potential to reduce operating expenses are key reasons why HealthOne Alliance, a Calhoun, Ga.-based regional PPO network and health plan, is exploring smart cards for its 100,000 members, says Jeff Myers, president and CEO.
I.T. Spotlights
- About Us
- Advertising/Media Kit
- Reprints
- Editorial Calendar
- Contact Us
- Customer Service
- Privacy Statement
©2008 HealthDataManagement and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
SourceMedia is an Investcorp company.
Use, duplication, or sale of this service, or data contained herein, is strictly prohibited.
