Bethesda Health implements RightPatient iris recognition technology
26 October, 2015
category: Biometrics, Health
The RightPatient biometric safety and patient data integrity system has been implemented at Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West.
The not-for-profit hospitals in Boynton Beach, Fla. houses nearly 500 patients. The RightPatient system is being used in outpatient and surgery areas, with plans to deploy it in the ER in the coming weeks.
“We felt the RightPatient system offered the most accurate and comprehensive system to ensure that 100% accuracy in the admitting process occurred every time a patient arrived for hospital services,” says Debi Stolic, director of Admitting at Bethesda Hospital. “From a billing and insurance perspective, we believe RightPatient ensures that our staff have the correct patient sitting before them to receive health care services. We also believe this provides peace of mind for our patients to know that their identity in our system remains secure and that the integrity of their medical records is protected.”
Bethesda Health chose RightPatient because it utilizes a safe, secure data storage system to record an image of the patient’s iris. The iris provides a unique biometric measurement which helps reduce medical errors caused by patient misidentification.
Patients arriving at the admitting department are told they will have their picture taken and it will be linked electronically to their medical record. A camera attached to the registrar’s computer takes a picture of the iris and the patient’s face. Patients are under no obligation to use the system, but so far, Bethesda reports that only one patient has opted out.
“Any step that we can take to ensure the safety of our patients improves the level of care we provide,” says Lisa Kronhaus, assistant vice president of public relations and Marketing at Bethesda Health.