A hospital has a great number of specific identity management needs. Organization is key, of course, and so a system must be in place to prevent mix ups, put an end to billing mishaps and eliminate duplicate records. In addition, the ability to ensure that a patient is who they say they are can prevent fraud. All of this is combined with the fact that hygiene is of the utmost importance in a clinical environment.
Archbold Memorial Hospital has chosen to solve all of the above issues with RightPatient, an identity management system from M2SYS Healthcare Solutions that features fingerprint, finger vein, palm vein, iris, facial and voice recognition.
Becky Poole, director of patient access at Archbold explains the decision: “The ongoing need to lower risks associated with misidentification and strengthen patient safety are important for us at Archbold, so we really wanted a solution that would not only mitigate these risks and add another layer of protection, but could easily be expanded across our network to help increase patient data integrity – a critical component of quality care in any modern healthcare setting.”
She continues, “RightPatient with iris biometrics was a good fit for us because it doesn’t require physical contact to support hospital infection control initiatives, seamlessly communicates with our Siemens electronic health records software, and can be used in multiple capacities including on mobile devices and on unconscious patients. Patients simply have their photo captured, the system matches their iris templates, and their medical record is automatically retrieved.”
The patient identification initiative will first launch at the flagship hospital with plans to expand the deployment to other medical facilities.
“The solution will help Archbold to reduce duplicate medical records and eliminate medical identity theft, protecting unauthorized access to sensitive patient data,” says Michael Trader, president of M2SYS Technology. “ Patient misidentification in healthcare continues to cause avoidable mistakes that directly impact safety while adding unnecessary costs.”
There are additional benefits to a biometric patient identification system. The increased efficiency can make the crucial difference between a helpful diagnosis and bad news.
Electronic health records can also be used to combat child abduction. Earlier this year, M2SYS announced the KinderGuardian program: an opt-in feature that works through RightPatient. If a child enrolled in KinderGuardian goes missing, their account is flagged, so when the abductee needs medical attention, a healthcare professional who uses M2SYS’s RightPatient will be immediately notified that they are dealing with a missing person.
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July 3, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
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