Indiana hospital implements CrossChx biometric fingerprint identification system

Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Indiana recently implemented fingerprint scanners from CrossChx, which scans patients’ fingerprints to generate a code linking them to their medical information, according to a report by The Courier-Journal.

Crosschx’s system is comprised of fingerprint scanners and their accompanying SafeChx software.

It works with Floyd Memorial Hospital’s electronic health record system, enabling administration staff to efficiently register their patients and accurately verify their identities.

SafeChx scans the patient’s finger and generates a unique identifier based on their minutia points, which is instantly linked to their respective medical record and benefits so that no other individual will be able to use the information.

Management at Floyd Memorial is hoping that the CrossChx system will reduce the number of duplicate patient records– an average of 100 a month – which are normally generated when a patient uses a middle name or nickname to register.

Duplicate records can result in costly administration fees for hospitals, as well as lead to the patient receiving inaccurate and potentially dangerous medication.

As soon as patients check in, they are asked to scan their right index finger five times so CrossChx can register their assigned code. For additional visits, patients can register with one scan.

The fingerprints themselves are never stored, so they cannot be stolen for malicious purposes.

The hospital “encourages, but doesn’t require” patients to use the CrossChx system, said Laurie Scarff, manager of patient access services, adding that in the first week more than 98 percent of patients agreed to use it.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  CrossChx  |  identity verification  |  medical records