We know all the painting points of the recording for medical appointments: manually fill tons of documents, or follow several guests on a tablet or a registration kiosk and scan your identity and insurance card. What if you could simply enter and hover your hand on a scanner? Palme scanning technology – which was used as part of a payment system to some grocery store,, Sports stages And airports – are also implemented in health care systems.
Nyu Langone Health in New York and Amazon Announced in early March That the health system would implement the Amazon -free contactless palm scanning technology called Amazon One to all its locations by this summer. When patients arrive for an appointment, they can hold their hand over a scanner to register. However, they should first fill their profile information in Amazon One via the mobile application of the health system on their phone, or in a kiosk of the health system. Then, when they score their palm, the information will be used to help the staff draw the right electronic health file.
It is an interesting trend to follow for journalists and a springboard for potential history ideas (see my list of history ideas at the bottom of the page).
How does it work?
Just like two fingerprints are not alike, there are not two similar palms. Each palm is made up of tiny distinct characteristics on and below the surface, many which are indistinguishable to the human eye or a standard camera, According to Amazon.
Technology uses infrared light to detect unique characteristics in palms, including vein patterns under the skin. While the light crosses the hand, it meets the veins, where hemoglobin in the blood absorbs light, according to a Article in Security Journal Americas. This creates darker areas in the captured image, precisely where the veins are located, said the article, while the surrounding tissues and non -absorbent components of the palm create lighter areas of the image. “With meticulous precision, the camera records the distinct models formed by the surrounding veins and tissues … serving as a basis for building a unique biometric model. Through complex algorithms, the camera converts this palm vein model into a digital model with data points representing the spatial arrangement and the characteristics of the veins, ”says the article.
Amazon claims that its technology has an accuracy rate of 99.9999% and a recognition time of less than a second.
But to what extent is technology secure? Amazon claims that he does not use the images to identify a person but creates instead a unique digital vector representation called palm signature for identity correspondence, According to his website. The images collected “are immediately encrypted and sent to a highly secure storage area” in the Amazon cloud. Technology can recognize the difference between a real palm and a false, having been tested with silicone and 3D printed palms. Nyu Langone Health says They do not share any of his protected health information with Amazon. Participation is voluntary and patients can withdraw at any time.
Why use this technology?
This is not the first use of palm scanning technology. Another version where patients place their hands directly on a scanner for infrared light reading have been used in hospitals in North Carolina,, Alabama,, Louisiana,, Indiana,, Florida And more dates back to several years.
So why use it? Andrew RubinVice-president Director of clinical affairs and ambulatory care at Nyu Langone Health, said to CNBC They predict that this will reduce the time that patients spend at offices before two to three minutes for less than a minute, which addresses their patient volume.
It has also been used to reduce fraud or administration errors. Patient identification incidents took place in hospitals where staff have put an incorrect file with the same name or the same date of birth as the patient who records. After deploying palm scanning technology, the Carolinas health system saw its double medical file The rate drops by 98%.
And, because it is not invasive, it can potentially be used by children; disabled people or dementia that may not be able to tell the staff their names; or people arriving at emergency services that are unconscious or unidentified.
History ideas
- From the point of view of patient satisfaction, how do patients love this option? Is it more popular among certain demographic data?
- From an angle of health equity, what does the technology accessible to less informed technology in technology?
- From the work of workflow / operations / commercial, is it a time of saving for recording or does it make things easier for front staff? Was there any problems?
- Continue the safety / confidentiality angle – How is the information stored or linked to electronic health files? Have patients refused to participate because of these concerns?
- On the technology side, how do health systems otherwise use biometric data such as fingerprints, facial recognition, iris scans or voice recognition?