Between protecting the privacy of electronic healthcare records (EHR) and offering a strong, anonymous way to authenticate both patients and providers, both healthcare and insurance providers should be taking a closer look at biometrics (including voice, of course) to support their service delivery strategies. On the EHR front, as mentioned by Adrian Gropper in this post, OAuth is emerging as a Web standard that can be used to transcend both physical and logical boundaries as individuals (most importantly patients, insured parties, but also including physicians and other care givers) assume greater control over health and payment-related information that is rightfully considered private.

Understanding the relationship between OAuth, healthcare, biometrics and, specifically, voice biometrics requires significant connecting-of-the-dots. Adrian’s post describes the power of OAuth to overcome the balkanization of EHR across healthcare providers, institutions, medical disciplines, vendors and insurance carriers. The metaphor of a “valet key” which lets its user drive the car without gaining access to the trunk or glove compartment, or drive more than 30 miles, is a powerful one because, it introduces the possibility “simplicity and transparency.”

The link with biometric authentication does not percolate to visibility until you begin to read the comments that follow. There, Alan Viars, CEO of Videntity Systems, Incorporated (VSI), elicits a sincere discussion of the suitability of biometrics as an authentication mechanism in the OAuth environment. He points out that OAuth creates many instances that are only as strong as the “username/password” combo that governs access to Twitter or Facebook. He then asks the non-rhetorical question whether biometrics might be a better way to give strong confidence that the patients or doctors are, indeed, who they claim to be.

Alan says, “Biometrics, implemented properly could do a lot to solve the master patient index (MPI) federation problem.”

Amen.

Adrian provides his very thoughtful response to Alan; and so a meaningful dialogue regarding biometric authentication has begun. We will, soon enough, get to the merits of voice versus iris versus fingerprint versus facial structure in today’s increasingly mobile world. But, in a world where our phones have morphed into indispensable, highly personal, virtual assistants that house our location, appointment calendars, contact lists and call histories (if not medical histories) the idea of using one’s voice to assert one’s identity should be obvious.

Categories: Articles

Tags: Voice biometrics, Recombinant Communications, electronic health records