Biometrics in healthcare: use cases, benefits, and things to consider

Biometrics are physical (such as fingerprints and vein patterns) and behavioral (e.g., typing patterns) characteristics, which can be analyzed to identify a person digitally and grant access to data or systems. Many argue that the first commercial use of biometrics is attributed to Sir William James Herschel. In the 1850s, Herschel was commissioned from Britain to Jungipoor, India. As Chief Magistrate, he was looking for a way to seal official documents. During times of unrest, Herschel was worried local contractors would not commit, and a signature would not be enough to prevent fraud. He decided to use handprints. The locals perceived this approach as binding and honored contracts signed that way. All biometric systems follow three main steps:

Highlighting the patient matching problem, Ben Moscovitch, Project Director for Health Information Technology at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said: “Research has shown that up to half of patient records may not be matched when transferred from one healthcare facility to another. This can harm patients. For example, if one record indicates that a patient has a particular allergy that is not documented in the other record, and the information is shared, and the patient is given a drug to which they are allergic.” “Having duplicate records in the system can cost $96 to fix each duplicate record. It can cost up to $1,000 to remove data of two patients that have been comingled,” Moscovitch added. According to Moscovitch, biometrics can improve healthcare costs by eliminating patient mismatches. Patient misidentification has been a persistent problem in healthcare facilities as well, and it brought a lot of grief to patients and lawsuits to hospitals. In one example, a patient received chemotherapy designated for another patient. The responsible nurse confirmed the patient’s ID from their wristband before administering the treatment. Little did she know that there was another patient with the same first and last name in the hospital’s database. Luckily, the patient didn’t sustain much physical harm but they still sued the hospital and won. With all these terrible events, the healthcare sector is looking for a new solid identification form. Biometrics are irrefutably unique identifiers that are attached to the patient and cannot be “lost.”

Hospitals are using biometrics in healthcare mainly for employee and patient identification. This improves workflow, reduces duplication, and makes patients recognized throughout the health system. Patient matching across healthcare providers is still not widely adopted, even though it’s a promising use case. However, the healthcare sector’s interest in biometrics is clearly increasing, according to Sean Kelly, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Imprivata, the digital identity management company. ”We have seen an increased investment in biometrics by our healthcare customers as a way to accurately identify people in their ecosystems, including patients and clinicians, maintain secure access to protected health information, and secure high-risk workflows such as electronic prescribing for controlled substances,” he said. Many healthcare organizations have already adopted medical biometrics. For example, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center installed finger scanners. Houston-based Harris Health System is using palm vein scanning for identification. Northwell Health is experimenting with facial and iris-based recognition technology. There is even a handheld tool for scanning fingerprints of newborns. Even though a baby’s fingers are fully formed, they are tiny and mushy in a way. This device employs seven times more sensitive sensors than regular fingerprint scanners to obtain a precise image. Here are some examples of biometrics-based identification in healthcare:

Many healthcare organizations are going through digital transformation and moving their data to the cloud. Imprivata, for instance, has integrated its OneSign solution with Microsoft Azure, allowing its healthcare clients to access their data on the cloud using biometric screening of fingerprints as an identification method.

Electronic prescriptions for controlled substances are highly regulated and need a formidable form of authentication. Imprivata, the company mentioned above, built a biometrics-powered Confirm ID solution that allows healthcare organizations to fulfill their Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requirements for electronic prescriptions of controlled substances.

Since the pandemic, telehealth is becoming increasingly common as it allows patients to receive qualified medical care from the safety of their homes. Biometrics-based authentication can serve as a secure login method to telehealth portals for both patients and physicians.

To stop the pandemic, healthcare institutions are looking for an effective worldwide COVID-19 vaccine rollout. This is challenging as almost a billion people across the world don’t have a legal ID. Considering this, Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, and other healthcare players believe biometrics in healthcare is a viable solution to this problem. This identification method will ensure privacy and security and will be suitable for countries without a foundational identification system. Scientists hope that identification systems based on biometrics in healthcare will help them keep patient records as long as needed and will accommodate new vaccine jabs and boosters. Ghana Health Service has already partnered with Gavi to start its biometrics-based country-wide vaccination program towards the end of 2021. They are testing fingerprints and facial recognition systems. To receive a vaccine jab, patients don’t need to have any formal identity. Their biometric profile will be created on the spot and will be used in the future to identify individuals coming for their second jab. After COVID vaccination is over, Ghana Health Service plans to deploy this system to cover other routine vaccines.

The combination of biometrics and healthcare can solve two significant problems: patient matching and patient identification. However, there are things to consider when installing this technology. Violate user data privacy, and you are in trouble. Install a solution that is not compatible with your existing systems, and you are in trouble again. Fail to gather high-quality biometrics profiles of all users, and the system will not deliver on expectations. To get the best out of biometrics solutions in healthcare, perform a comprehensive assessment of your infrastructure, follow data storage and usage regulations, and work with a reliable vendor who will support you in case of any malfunctioning.