Advanced biometric solution protects patient records

28-08-2014

Imprivata, a provider of authentication, access management and secure communications solutions for the healthcare industry, has introduced several technology enhancements to its biometric verification solution.

Impravata OneSign Secure Walk-Away, the company’s biometric verification solution safeguards against unauthorized access to patient records at unattended clinical workstations.

It now includes advanced 3D camera technology, video tracking and facial recognition software to deliver an active presence detection solution that protects patient information, supports HIPAA compliance and improves clinical workflow efficiency.

“We’ve made significant enhancements to Imprivata OneSign Secure Walk-Away to deliver a leading-edge, patented presence detection solution that helps customers solve important challenges. Unlike most motion sensor cameras that cover a two-dimensional field, we employ 3D technology to measure depth as well, which is more effective in a busy healthcare setting where multiple providers may be walking in front of a workstation,” said David Ting, founder and CTO of Imprivata.

“Imprivata OneSign Secure Walk-Away helps healthcare organizations mitigate the potential exposure of protected health information (PHI) on unattended clinical workstations from which providers have not properly logged out, which is essential to ensuring the integrity and privacy of patient data.”

The use of shared workstations in hallways, patient rooms and other common areas of the hospital introduce the risk of exposing PHI to unauthorized access.

Imprivata OneSign Secure Walk-Away addresses this by automating the process of logging providers out of workstations when they leave and re-authenticating them when they return. By minimizing the need to manually log in and out of systems and applications, providers can remain focused on patient care as they move throughout the hospital while PHI remains protected from unauthorized access.

Imprivata OneSign Secure Walk-Away also reduces the possibility of providers entering information when they are unknowingly logged into a system under the wrong credentials, which is a risk associated with shared workstations in a busy healthcare setting.

The solution only allows the previously authenticated user to log back into their session, and if other providers need to use the workstations, they are required to provide their own authentication credentials.

“Our care providers are highly mobile, moving constantly throughout the hospital and accessing information from patient rooms, labs, shared workstations and other locations. They don’t want to have to worry about logging out of workstations, especially if they are called away in an emergency situation. However we need to be vigilant in preventing PHI from exposure on unattended computers,” said Gary Diemert, information technology supervisor at Mason General Hospital (Shelton, Wash.).

“Imprivata OneSign Secure Walk-Away is a highly reliable, seamless solution for addressing these challenges without disrupting clinical workflows. Our providers can remain focused on patient care with the assurance that PHI is not left exposed, and we see tremendous value in deploying Imprivata OneSign Secure Walk-Away throughout the hospital.”

Imprivata, US, David Ting