Hospital Security

Mar 1, 1997 12:00 PM, By KATE DOHERTY

When patients enter LaPorte Hospital, they are asked only one question: How may we help you today? Their fingerprints tell everything else, says Carolyn Shebel, director of information systems and support services at Lakeland Area Health Services, a sister corporation to LaPorte Hospital, La Porte, Ind.

Using a positive identification (PID) automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) from NEC Technologies, the hospital has automated its patient registration and receiving. The single-finger, live-scan, store, search and match system uses digital fingerprint images to verify a person's identity. Jim Menendez, NEC's AFIS sales and marketing manager, predicts the technology will become more widely used, because the problems LaPorte has overcome exist in virtually every healthcare facility.

The pilot project In 1995, the hospital convened a working group as part of a re-engineering effort to improve patient registration and prevent generation of duplicate patient records. Shebel had previously been employed as a courtroom stenographer and was familiar with fingerprint technology. She suggested using fingerprint records as a master patient index, rather than using a card-based system. NEC Technologies was elected to run a pilot of its PID AFIS system to determine patients' response to a request for fingerprints and to measure the impact on the registration process. Letters were sent to patients to ensure they understood the upcoming pilot project and its potential benefits. The hospital trained employees how to print a patient, how to admit a return patient, and how to answer questions about the system.

In the pilot, two workstations equipped to capture fingerprints were used - one in the outpatient rehabilitation center and one in the hospital. According to Menendez, the pilot was a success, and more workstations were added in March and September.

The nuts and bolts Today, there are seven workstations networked to a server in the hospital. They are located in the patient registration area, the emergency room and in the rehabilitation and outpatient centers. Each workstation consists of a PC running Windows 95 and a scanner, connected to the NT sequel server.

When a patient enters the hospital for the first time, an administrator greets the patient and scans the patient's fingerprint. A single-finger scan and accompanying demographic information are entered into the database, and a medical record number is assigned. On subsequent visits, the fingerprint will be used to identify the patient and to retrieve information from the database.

The system increases the speed and efficiency of the registration process and provides security, because a fingerprint cannot be forged. It also eliminates duplicate records, ensures proper patient care, and detects and deters fraud.

If a patient is misidentified during the admission process, it could be detrimental to the patient's clinical care, and could result in costly financial errors affecting the patient, hospital and insurance company, says Shebel. The PID system eliminates such problems.

Tampering is prevented with passwords and log-ins, and fingerprints and associated data are protected as confidential medical information maintained exclusively in the hospital.

Within a few months, the hospital's database grew from 400 to 1,500 fingerprints. According to Shebel, the reaction of patients has been positive. We have been told we should have done this a long time ago, and asked why we didn't think of it before. Patients appreciate that registration is quicker, and they feel comfortable knowing if they come into the ER unable to speak for some reason, we will know who they are.

Menendez predicts fingerprint technology will become more widely used in the healthcare industry. Hospitals everywhere want to prevent duplicate records and detect and prevent fraud - problems Menendez says have been discussed for years.

He cites an instance in which the system prevented fraud and loss: An emergency room patient was fingerprinted and registered into the system, providing his name and personal information. A few days later, he returned and gave a different name, probably to avoid payment. Using the fingerprint identification system, the patient was identified, and the situation was resolved. Plans for development

Currently, the medical records database is administered by the information systems department and has not been integrated with hospital systems such as access control. But according to Shebel, that could change. This is the first time the system has been used in the medical arena, and we want to develop it. We have put together a wireless laptop that can be wheeled around to fingerprint patients, and we are discussing other ideas as well. The portable laptop computer, designed and installed by NEC, is an open-architecture, Windows-based unit that can be used for bedside registrations or to fingerprint someone in the ER on a stretcher. According to Menendez, the units could also be used in remote locations such as physicians' offices, so patients could be fingerprinted and registered during routine exams. Also, the security department is considering the system as a replacement for the current badging system.

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