Plastic ID cards are a viable identification management solution for most institutions, but at the Urban Health Care clinic in Bronx, New York hospital workers employ a biometric iris scanner to ensure that patient records are not mishandled, according to CNN.
The clinic serves a heavily Spanish client base, much of which does not speak English. In the past have been several cases of mistaken identity at the hospital. Before it installed the iris scanner, there were several instances where there were more than 50 patients with the same name.
"There are many patients with similar names and you want to make sure you get the right patient," Dr. Samuel De Leon, the chief medical officer at Urban Health Plan, told CNN. "In healthcare, risk management is an important thing. You want to avoid medical errors. You want to make sure you treat the right patient. You don’t want to give the wrong medication."
Hospitals have instituted smartcard and biometric technology in recent months to improve their service in several different ways. In Texas, a hospital gave plastic ID cards to all workers to improve security, while a South Carolina hospital uses smartcard technology to make blood test results faster.
