Health
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 April 2015 14:32
Always keeping up with latest technologies, Monongahela Valley Hospital recently implemented a similar type of security system in its registration areas — a secure patient identification system called SafeChx that will help register patients more quickly, prevent medical identity fraud and eliminate duplicate records.
By scanning patients' index fingers to measure and analyze the physical characteristics of patterns and ridges — the most common biometric scan — SafeChx instantly verifies a patient's medical identity.
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| SafeChx |
The scan acquires and recognizes these unique patterns and ridges. The fingerprints are not stored as actual prints, but as unique biometric mathematical data.
To enroll, patients place their finger on the small rectangular scanner up to five times to capture their biometrics. Enrollment is optional but once a patient is enrolled in SafeChx, registration becomes a single-step process; just one touch on the scanner registers the patient.
Long-term advantages to this new technology include faster patient registration, easier access to patient medical records, quick and accurate patient identification in emergencies and decreased risk of duplicate or incorrect records.
Patients enrolled in a SafeChx hospital system can also easily register at any health care facility that uses SafeChx. At least one out-of-town visitor who belonged to a SafeChx hospital system was easily able to scan and register at MVH this week.
