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Introduction In any country s health care system, many challenges have yet to be resolved. And patient identification is perhaps the greatest concern for both private and public health care organizations all over the world. That is why, in its top 10 priorities to improve patient safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) cites the need to improve the technology employed in patient identification. At UMANICK, our aim, through the use of the latest biometric technologies, is to contribute to ensuring the correct identification of each and every patient at any point in the health care system. Why the need to correctly identify patients? To improve patient safety: necessary to eradicate errors in patient identification from the list of principal causes of medical error. To reduce health care spending: necessary to reduce the money and time spent correcting mistakes, and to mitigate the problems this causes for patients. To prevent medical fraud: necessary to safeguard patients privacy and personal data, and prevent medical identity theft. So that medical records are accurate and reliable: necessary to delete duplicate medical records, and ensure that the information in these records is always accurate and up to date. To provide excellent medical treatment: necessary for health professionals to enjoy a better working environment, and have the time they need to focus on treating patients. But How can we change the way things are done today? To change the current situation, hospitals and health centers will have to stop identifying people using something they know (for example, names) or something they carry around with them (for example, an identity card), and start identifying people using something that people are. In other words, using a physical or behavioral trait that unequivocally, safely and securely identifies a person as a unique individual. And to do so, the optimal solution is through the use of biometric technologies. Biometrics: What is it? How does it work? What are its advantages? Biometrics is based on the premise that each person is unique and has distinctive physical features (such as their face, fingerprints, iris or voice) and behavioral patterns (such as their signature or gait) that can be used to unequivocally identify any individual. Based on these physiological or behavioral traits, numerous automated recognition (identification) and authentication (verification) methods have been developed over the years thanks to scientific research and technological progress. This collection of methods and technologies make up the field of modern biometrics. Under what circumstances is the use of biometrics recommendable? Biometric techniques can be used at any point in the health care system, during any phase of patient care: admission to hospital, emergency care (e.g., ER), external consultation and emergency medicine, among others. The use of biometrics is UMANICK TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. www.umanick.com info@umanick.com 2 / 7
especially recommendable in cases where patients abilities to communicate have been affected, where they are not fully conscious, where they have difficulties in collaborating with the authentication process, or they have a high degree of dependence on others. What are the advantages of biometrics versus other identification methods? Biometrics requires fewer protective measures than systems that use patients personal information, wristbands and health cards. Whereas health cards and personal information can be stolen or copied relatively easily, stealing a biometric trait is extremely complicated. Furthermore, cards or any other physical medium, can be lost, where as biometric traits never change (except in a few special cases) and are also always there with the person who they identify. Of course, using biometrics is also more convenient for patients, as they do not have to memorize or recall any information, or carry ID cards around with them everywhere they go. Finally, a biometric system, once successfully in place, has lower maintenance costs than systems based on wristbands or cards, as there are no maintenance costs associated with losing or forgetting these physical identification items. I want to identify my patients using biometric techniques. What do I need? We recommend using Umanick Identification Server. This allows you to identify your patients safely, securely, quickly and easily, without needing a background in biometrics. Umanick Identification Server. What is it? Umanick Identification Server is a biometric server that, with its latest version, lets you use face and fingerprint recognition algorithms. In forthcoming releases, the inclusion of voice and iris recognition algorithms is planned. This application can be deployed in a matter of minutes in your network infrastructure, so that you can start offering biometric patient identification and/or verification services, over the Internet, to any of the applications currently in use in your hospital or health center. It comes as a complete solution, which is ready to use and includes a multi-modal biometric authentication (identification, verification) engine that employs the latest biometric technologies. It is set up to work locally or across an entire network, with support for multiple organizations, languages, and locations in one, single system. Key competitive advantages The use of cutting-edge technology. Umanick Identification Server uses latestgeneration cutting-edge technology, and boasts a selection of the best biometric algorithms on the market. A range of biometric technologies. In its current version, Umanick Identification Server supports face and fingerprint recognition. Shortly, it will also include voice and iris recognition. Service-oriented architecture. The standard web interface means that Umanick Identification Server can be used by any application (web, desktop, mobile or hardware) that is compatible with SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) technology. It offers a guarantee for the future thanks to its use of a single interface to provide access to all its biometric services, regardless of the biometric technology and algorithm employed. UMANICK TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. www.umanick.com info@umanick.com 3 / 7
No ties to manufacturers. Umanick Identification Server works directly with the captured biometric sample (the raw image), incorporating the functions of detection, extraction and pre-processing of this sample, which ensures that clients are free from ties to manufacturers of proprietary biometric devices. Easy to use. It can be integrated with any programming language and development environment. It takes less than one week to integrate the product, and it comes with user and integration manuals, together with demo applications and examples of code. Multiple deployment options. Umanick Identification Server offers multiple deployment options, including installing the software locally or on a scalable cloud, thereby catering for traditional, hybrid and SaaS (Software as a Service) implementations in businesses of any size. Multi-platform. Umanick Identification Server works with 32- and 64-bit x86 architectures, as well as AMD64 architectures. It has been tested on the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and several GNU/Linux distributions. Independence from the Database engine. The default database that stores all the biometric data, registers, configurations and so forth works with MySQL, but it is possible to use any database compatible with one or more of the following engines: OracleTM, MySQLTM, SQL ServerTM and SQLiteTM. Interoperability. Maximum compatibility with third-party applications. It supports the most common industry standards such as: ISO/IEC 19794-2, 19794-4 and 19794-5; ANSI/INC ITS 381-2004, 385-2004 and 378-2004; and ANSI/NIST ITL-1-2000. Security. Umanick Identification Server uses RSA (Rivest, Shamir y Adleman) public-key encryption and the Triple DES algorithm to offer maximum encryption security. The security option for storing the biometric samples is automated and completely transparent for the application client. It also offers the system integrator a robust security layer to ensure the flow of messages between the identification server and the application clients that use the biometric services. Minimum development risk. The system integrator can mitigate practically all risks related to a lack of knowledge of biometric technologies on the part of the development team, thereby minimizing the technical complexity of the project as a whole. UMANICK s team offers the developer its full biometric technology expertise and specialization, providing advisory services on the most suitable technologies and image capture techniques for each identification process, as well as assistance with the integration of the product into the client s system. Flexible licensing. The licensing plan is completely flexible, for both developers and end clients. The system integrator can choose which biometric technologies to work with for each end client, and obtain a license just for these technologies, with the option to add further technologies at any time. It is also possible to start with a small database of biometric templates and expand it when the application needs to grow. Which health care services and processes need to change? Biometric patient identification is a solution that should be applied across all hospital services where the majority of the patientfocused processes need updating. Patient registration Our objective is to ensure the correct identification of patients, so this step marks a critical stage of the process. During this phase, committing an error that later goes undetected may cause, during subsequent patient admission, the incorrect UMANICK TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. www.umanick.com info@umanick.com 4 / 7
identification of a patient, which, in turn, could lead to instances of malpractice. The main risk lies in performing an inadequate, incorrect or incomplete data collection procedure or, on the other hand, the patient being the perpetrator of medical fraud or identity theft. To prevent and/or mitigate these risks, it is advisable to improve the security of the process by implementing some key changes to the patient identification system to protect against the loss of information or confusion during patient registration. Patient admission It is critical to bring about certain changes, such as always performing a biometric identity check of a patient each time he or she is admitted to a health care institution. This way, we can ensure that the person is who he or she claims to be. It is also necessary to bear in mind that the user s biometric traits are the only valid patient identifiers. Therefore, for all health care processes that require prior patient identification, the identification procedure should be modified to incorporate biometric methods. Note: It is worth commenting that errors during patient admission are the primary cause of duplicate medical records. The patient admission phase also tends to be the moment at which fraudsters try to steal another person s medical identity in an attempt to gain access to free health care services. Patient discharge When a patient is discharged, the protocol should first indicate the need to verify the patient s identity. And, in certain special cases, such as the treatment of minors or legally incapacitated persons, verification of the identity of the legal representative will be required to be able to discharge the patient. Obviously, the only form of correctly identifying the patient, or legal representative, is using a biometric system. Voluntary discharges do not differ greatly from standard discharges, and tend to follow the same procedure. In the case of voluntary discharges, however, some further steps are introduced to avoid legal disagreements in the future for both the institution and its staff. Currently, patients or legal representatives are required to sign a voluntary discharge form, which contains certain key information. But, does a written signature really identify the person who is signing the form? The only way of truly identifying the patient and linking him or her unequivocally to the document is by using a digital signature, created from the patient s biometric data. High-risk procedures Medication administration. This is one of the most common procedures in health care and often takes place in critical situations. Therefore, before administering medication, it is highly recommendable to perform an unequivocal identification of the patient using biometric techniques to check that the patient matches the name on the prescription. The aim is to apply the rule of the 5 rights of medication administration : right patient, right medicine, right dose, right time and right route of administration. Blood transfusions. Blood transfusions are essential treatments that save lives. All patients should have secure, safe access to transfusions. As a reminder to national health authorities and hospital managers, the checklist published by the World Health Organization states that hospitals should have a system of patient identification in place. And, what s more, the checklist also stresses the need to check the patient s identity prior to a transfusion. Taking biological samples for analysis. Each hospital analyzes hundreds of samples every day, for inpatients and emergency patients alike. Although errors can occur at any point during the procedure, the point at which the sample is taken is usually when these errors arise. Once the mistake is made at this stage, however, it is more difficult to detect, so it is important to check, leaving no room for doubt, that the UMANICK TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. www.umanick.com info@umanick.com 5 / 7
patient who provides the sample is the same as the patient who figures on the request for analysis. In such cases, simply asking for name and surname may be insufficient, above all if they are common names. The most advisable course of action is therefore to use biometric identification of the patient when the sample is taken. Performing an invasive procedure. In our view, all health centers should demand verification of the patient s identity by a professional before performing an invasive medical or paramedical procedure. And to do so, some kind of biometric technique should be employed to ensure that the patient is identified correctly. Performing surgical operations. Verifying the patient s identity and ensuring that the correct patient coincides with the correct operation, before going into theater. Few errors in medicine are more serious than surgery carried out on the wrong patient or in the wrong surgical site. Other procedures Medical history Taking vital signs Other non-invasive procedures (X-ray, spirometry, ECG, retinography, diagnostic sonography, Doppler ultrasound, MRI, CT scan) Informed consent Confirmation of death Medical emergencies Relocation of patients (internal and external) Birth certification Ambulatory treatments or diagnostic tests in other settings (oncological treatment, radio and chemotherapy). One-off consultations, or centers that offer combined consultation and treatment services for surgery, high-risk medication (cytostatic treatments, etc.) or transfusions. Can I use biometric technology for other purposes? Once a biometric patient identification system is in place, the same technology can be harnessed to improve the security, efficacy and convenience of other processes within a hospital or health center, even if these processes are not necessarily related to patient care and treatment of illness. Physical access control Staff scheduling Logical access control to guarantee the security of the information in the HIS and electronic medical record system, or to provide online services to let patients access information securely over the Internet (e.g., portal for chronic patients). Making appointments over the Internet or over the phone Identification of authorized personnel to provide access to reports and test results (X-rays, MRIs, etc.). UMANICK TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. www.umanick.com info@umanick.com 6 / 7
What benefits should I expect? Umanick s value proposition for the health care sector provides direct benefits to all those involved in the health care system of any country, area or region. Its benefits directly favor patients, who are clearly the users of the health care system, but it also offers advantages to doctors and the rest of the health care and management staff. Finally, the institution, organization or health center itself benefits from the implementation of biometric technologies. Patients are the main beneficiaries +SAFETY Increases patient safety +CONVENIENCE More convenient for patients +SATISFACTION Greater satisfaction in the service +CONFIDENCE Greater confidence and peace of mind +QUALITY Improves patients quality of life For doctors, and medical and administrative staff +SAFETY Tighter safety and security for staff +CONVENIENCE More convenient identification process +SATISFACTION Better sense of work satisfaction +CONFIDENCE Greater confidence and legal protection +QUALITY Higher quality service For the institution, organization or health center +SAFETY A safer health center +ACCESSIBLE No barriers +QUALITY High-quality medical treatment +COST Reduction in health care spending +RESULTS Better results indicators In conclusion UMANICK s value proposition seeks to encourage the use of biometric technologies in the health care sector because we are convinced of the benefits this provides for patients, health care users and the medical and administrative staff alike. It also adds significant value to the organization itself, by improving results as well as boosting the community s confidence and satisfaction with the service provided, year after year. All this will be the result of successfully carrying out a project to implement a biometric system on a suitable scale and with the latest technologies. UMANICK TECHNOLOGIES, S.L. www.umanick.com info@umanick.com 7 / 7