Palm Readers Provide Identification

HDM Breaking News, September 23, 2008

An integrated delivery system in Tampa, Fla., is implementing a biometric security system that relies on palm vein authentication devices as part of its patient registration and identification process.

BayCare Health System, which has nine hospitals, is using PalmSecure devices from Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif. The palm reading devices are integrated with hospital information systems from Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, Pa., using PatientSecure integration technology from HT Systems, Tampa. This helps ensure that medical records are secure and duplicate records are never created, BayCare executives say.

PalmSecure uses a near infrared light to capture a patient’s palm vein pattern, generating a unique biometric template that’s matched against a database of enrolled users’ palm vein patterns.

So far, the system is in place at four of BayCare’s hospitals and several outpatient centers. Some 3,300 patients have enrolled, with only about 1% of eligible patients declining to use the technology, BayCare executives say. The delivery system expects to roll out the technology to all of its nine hospitals and 11 outpatient centers by the end of October.

More information on the biometric technology is available at fujitsu.com.

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