PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ – An alliance that’s promoting the benefits of using smart cards in healthcare suggests the cards can contain both clinical and financial information to improve care delivery and general administration.
Smart cards already have proven themselves in other industries, and their capabilities could help healthcare in the United States to cost-effectively share records and financial information, said a recent white paper by The Smart Card Alliance of Princeton Junction, N.J.
“There is a compelling need to provide practical and trusted solutions that can have an immediate impact on the communication and exchange of patient health information,” the report said. “A smart card can therefore reduce healthcare inefficiencies and the possiblity of medical errors and empower patients by making them more active partners in the management and maintenance of their healthcare.”
Smart cards are used in other countries’ healthcare systems, said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the alliance. Overseas, the cards help reduce fraud and costs and add efficiencies.
“A health ID smart card would be able to expand the use of the identity credential and integrate it into insurance reimbursement,” Vanderhoof said.
“Healthcare is really just starting to scratch the surface with smart cards,” he added. “The industry has been behind the curve in getting records more electronically enabled. We’re seeing a lot of innovative organizations, with smart cards as their ID platform, that are significantly streamlining and reducing costs.”
In Texas, the Medicaid program has adopted the use of smart cards, combined with biometric technology, to improve the identification of Medicaid recipients.
Recipients enroll at service centers, are fingerprinted and receive smart cards, which they present when they visit a provider facility. Their fingerprint is matched against the fingerprint the agency has on record.
The system has helped reduce costs, because mailings to individual recipients regarding extensions of their benefits are eliminated, said Neville Pattinson, vice president of government affairs and standards for Gemalto North America, which supplies smart cards for the program.
A handful of other hospital systems, including several in New York City, are using smart cards, Vanderhoof said. Some regional health information organizations also are considering using smart cards, he added.
Consumer-directed healthcare initiatives also could benefit from the use of smart cards, which would enable patients to maintain and control access to their medical records, the white paper noted. Cards also can hold data on the bearer’s eligibility for services, benefit levels and claims history, which would benefit both providers and payers, the paper said.