How does palm scanning work?
Palm vein scanning uses harmless, near-infrared light to illuminate the vein pattern in your hand. The data from your vein pattern is stored for reference and used at future visits for fast, accurate patient identification.

Is near-infrared light safe to use?
Near-infrared light is the shortest wavelength of infrared light. It does not give off heat and is the type of infrared light used in devices such as night vision goggles and in your TV's remote control device.

Why are hospitals using palm scanning?
Providing safe patient care starts with accurate patient identification. Having your unique palm scan to identify you ensures a hospital can pull up your unique electronic health record to review your history and document your care at each visit.

Why use veins in a palm as a way to identify me?
Vein pattern in a palm is unique to each person and provides wealth of differentiation factors for personal identification.
Palm vein recognition technology is more accurate than a fingerprint matching or facial recognition.

Why aren't my name and birth date enough to identify me?
In a large organization as most Healthcare systems, it is common to have multiple patients with the same name. Sometimes as many as a dozen may have the same first and last name, even the same middle initial and/or birth date. Patients with the same name may have clinic visits on the same day or be hospitalized during the same time period, increasing the risk of misidentification. In addition, your palm scan can identify you, even if you are unconscious or otherwise not able to communicate.

Will this slow down registration? How long will it take?
No. The initial enrollment process takes less than one minute. Scans at subsequent visits will allow us identify you faster and help improve patient safety.

What if I'm an identical twin?
Because the palm scanning device is so precise and the vein structure in our hands is so unique, even identical twins can be identified.
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Does palm scanning help protect against identity theft?
Yes. Palm scanning provides a higher level of protection than personal identification numbers, driver’s license, and fingerprints. It ensures you are identified as the right person while not allowing others to impersonate you. Also, because the system scans the veins in your hand, not the surface of your skin like fingerprints, your data cannot be tampered with or stolen.

Will children be scanned?
Yes. Children will be scanned beginning at age 5. Until age 15, they will be rescanned each year due to growth of their hands.

Could my scan be stolen?
No. Your palm vein scan is converted to secure digital (numerical) code with data encryption and is not stored as images in our system. As a result your scan cannot be stolen. The scan is not part of your medical record and no patient health information is stored within the palm scan data file.
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When will the scan be used?
The scan file will be used only to identify patients during the clinic registration, hospital admission or emergency department registration processes.

Are other industries using palm scanning?
Yes. The banking industry in Japan uses palm scanning rather in conjunction with the smart ATM card for identification on ATM machines. Also, the organization that administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has recently announced plans to implement palm scanning as part of its registration process.

What forms of ID are acceptable to enroll?
Photo IDs, such as driver's license, employment ID, passport or other government ID will be accepted.

I've been a patient here for years. Why do I suddenly need to show ID?
It's just this one time as we enroll you in the system. In the future, we'll just scan your palm and ask for your date of birth.
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Will my palm scan be shared with other organizations?
No. Palm scan data will not be part of your medical record. If you request that your medical record be released, the palm scan data will not be released with the medical record.

Could my scan be shared with the legal system?
Palm vein scanning currently is not used by the legal system or law enforcement purposes. In addition, since vein pattern recognition requires blood flow and therefore is not suitable for forensic analysis, the scan data comes in no use for crime investigations.

What if I refuse to be scanned?
You can still receive care by using traditional forms of identification. On subsequent visits, we will inquire again whether you would like to enroll in the palm vein scanning system. We recommend palm vein scanning because of the extra safety and security it provides.
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What about hand hygiene? How often do you clean the scanners?
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advised that the scanners fall into the category of non-critical health care equipment and are similar to doorknobs and countertops in level of risk for infection. According to the CDC the scanners can be cleaned effectively with agents such as Purell hand sanitizer. Purell wipes and/or hand sanitizer will be available at each scanner for patients to use before or after scanning if they wish.

Will palm scanning be available at self-check in kiosks?
Yes. The kiosks stations equipped with palm scanning can be installed at your locations for patients who are enrolled in the system. Those who are not yet enrolled will have to go to a staffed registration desk to be entered into the system first. Then on subsequent visits, they will be able to use the kiosks.
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