ID.me provides digital ID verification for milestone in patient health records access

Responding to ongoing demand in healthcare for better ways to access and manage personal medical records online, secure digital identity provider ID.me has announced a partnership with healthtech firm OtisHealth.

Users can now verify their identity and provide consent at login using ID.me to gain access to their clinical records via the OtisHealth app. Once digital authentication is complete, a single Individual Access Services (IAS) request enables users to view, manage and share their data across providers as needed. A press release announcing the partnership says the consumer-centered system aims to put users in control of their healthcare journey by making patient healthcare records requests more accessible and simpler to manage.

“Healthcare interoperability is not possible without a verified digital identity and authorized consent, two bedrock principles of ID.me,” says Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me. “With over 50 million American adults who have verified their identities with ID.me at federal and state agencies, we’re truly honored to simplify and secure access to healthcare data for all.”

Two Healthcare Information Networks qualified by the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) are also involved in the partnership. TEFCA is a framework for patient-directed access to healthcare data established by the 21st Century Cures Act. Marc Mar-Yohana, CEO of OtisHealth, says that “history has been made with OtisHealth’s success in processing the first patient direct request for their personal health records on the newly established TEFCA national network.”

ID.me, whose clients include state and federal government agencies, becomes the first credential service provider to tap the TEFCA framework. The digital passport and ID firm facilitates requests by transmitting a TEFCA-approved token to a QHIN (qualified health information network) that has authorized access to patient data. Identity verification and consent are confirmed by the QHIN, which then transfers healthcare records back to OtisHealth and the user.

Also involved is the CARIN Alliance, a bipartisan digital access advocacy organization that includes members from the consumer, healthcare and tech sectors.

“The foundation of this consumer-directed exchange was a digital credential that the CARIN Alliance has been promoting since 2017,” says Ryan Howells, head of CARIN Alliance. “The reality is now patients can use a single ID-proofed digital credential across a national network to access their health information. Our collective dream has become a reality!”

Representatives from ID.me and OtisHealth will be in Los Angeles to showcase the collaboration at the ViVE digital health conference in February 2024.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  CARIN Alliance  |  digital identity  |  ID.me  |  identity verification  |  interoperability  |  medical records  |  patient identification