Data is leaked in the medical field. Biometrics may help close the hole

It's true that news coverage of biometrics often centers on costly fraud cases and large-scale data breaches, in part because breaches continue to occur. is. In the medical field, which processes large amounts of sensitive personal information, a breach can expose large amounts of data and incur significant costs. Consider the February 2024 cyberattack on Change Healthcare. In this attack, hackers demanded (and obtained) a $22 million ransom to release 6TB of sensitive data extracted from medical records.

New research from software provider Censys has found that more than 14,000 unique IP addresses around the world expose patients' potentially sensitive medical information to the public internet. Almost half of them are in the US and another 10% in India.

According to a report by researcher Himaja Motheram, “Open DICOM (medical digital imaging communication) ports and DICOM-enabled web interfaces for exchanging and displaying medical images accounted for 36 percent of exposures, with 5,100 hosts using these This is concerning because DICOM is a legacy protocol with several known security weaknesses, such as often allowing access to connected image databases without authentication. That's what you should do.

EMR/EHR systems for storing and managing electronic health records accounted for another 28% of exposures, with 4,031 exposed interfaces. Of these, 3678 come from Epic EMR, which is unique among EMRs and supports multi-factor authentication (MFA). The exposure rate reflects its size and centrality in the US healthcare sector. More than 250 million patients have electronic health records registered with Epic, representing more than 75 percent of all patients in the United States.

Due to the size and complexity of healthcare networks in the United States and India, security standards are often inconsistent from region to region or hospital to hospital. The report concludes: “The critical importance of implementing robust access controls, such as multi-factor authentication, cannot be overstated.”

Biometrics are part of the solution to healthcare’s data problems

A recent blog from HID's Chris Neely argues that biometric technology is “a powerful tool to streamline operations while securing access across multiple touchpoints, paving the way to a safer and more efficient healthcare environment.” ” and how it emerged.

“Traditional methods such as passwords, PINs, and keycards are vulnerable to theft, loss, and misuse,” the blog says. “It also falls short in providing the level of assurance needed in a healthcare environment where mistakes or misconduct can have life-altering consequences.”

Neely said biometric technology, particularly facial identification and verification, is “transformative” for high-stakes, compliance-based healthcare environments that process vast amounts of data. He cited access to controlled substances and patient data security as examples of how facial recognition could be used.

“Integrating facial recognition technology into patient check-in systems links a patient's biometric data to the medical record from the beginning. This integration ensures that the correct record is always captured for each patient and reduces the risk of error. and improve the overall quality of care.”

“Deploying facial recognition technology in the healthcare industry is about more than just protecting assets,” the blog says. “This promotes a safer and more efficient healthcare environment.”

HID has published a free e-book on how to use facial recognition to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare fraud.

AllClear ID app aggregates health records and uses AI to manage care

AllClear ID says it has launched “the world's first digital health bank.” According to the release, the Health Bank One app “combines a patient's medical record with AI to generate personalized insights for everyone involved in their care.”

“Today, companies control our health data and access to medical expertise is limited to just 17 minutes per visit,” said Allclear ID CEO Beau Holland. . “My son's experience with a brain tumor revealed the flaws in this method of information sharing. Health Bank One simplifies health record searches and organizes records into secure health summaries. , giving patients back control by providing explanations and insights generated by AI.”

The Health Bank One app collects and consolidates an individual's electronic and hardcopy medical records and images into a single digitized account encrypted with mobile biometrics. In other words, it provides “a long-term record of a patient's medical history with the patient's consent.”

We also offer an AI chatbot assistant, currently powered by GPT-4. According to the release, “Care Guide provides personalized, personalized care by deciphering medical terminology and analyzing personal medical records to answer questions about diagnoses, test results, prescribed treatment courses, and more in real-time. We provide medical intelligence.”

Health Bank One is available from the Apple Store or Google Play. Subscription costs $14.95 per month.