Biometric scanner reduces EMS on-scene time
The Stow (Ohio) Fire Department recently deployed MyChoice, a Web-based subscription service from My LifePlan that uses fingerprint biometrics to access patient records. Responders are using BIO-key International’s biometric solution to scan program enrollee’s fingerprints in order to gain instant access to health records on scene, said Michael Depasquale, BIO-key’s CEO.
Enrollees subscribe to the company’s MyChoice program for a monthly fee. Their fingerprints are recorded and their medical records are aggregated into a centralized database, Depasquale said. Responders then can access aggregated records using a software-based, encrypted biometric identification solution.
“This is a system that ensures that anyone who is participating in the program will have all of their information in one place for whoever may require it,” he said.
Lou Ann Metz, division chief for the Stow Fire Department, said the department protects 35,000 residents who live in about 14 square miles. Metz said the department often responds to EMS calls where patients are unable to speak for themselves, such as Alzheimer patients. The Web-based patient-data system in conjunction with BIO-Key’s biometric solution lets its first responders scan a patient’s finger to access to critical information.
Indeed, Metz said they were impressed with BIO-Key’s security features because adhering to HIPAA mandates is such a concern. It also lets an EMT or paramedic access records when an unconscious patient’s finger is scanned, which saves time, she said.
“One of the things this system will do for us is it will allow us earlier and more immediate access to critical information that we need, which saves our personnel on scene from having to wade through pages of information and reduces our on-scene time,” she said. “By spending less time on scene, we get the patient to the hospital quicker.”
Depasquale said the biometric system is used in local embedded OEM products, as well as some of the world’s largest identification deployments.
“Some laptops come with embedded fingerprint scanners, some do not so, an external is plugged into the USB port,” he said. “We operate with 50 different fingerprint scanners and then the software is required to make it work and we provide that for the customer.”
