Hemoglobin in the blood absorbs infrared rays, illuminating the veins so that they are visible to the scanner. The accuracy of the palm-vein reading is not affected by cuts, scars, tattoos, skin color, or aging.

Patient-Centered Care, Right in the Palm of Your Hand

A Fast, Easy, Safe Registration System Makes Its Debut

Already renowned for its state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, NYU Langone Medical Center will soon employ scanning technology of another kind for an entirely different purpose—patient registration. Starting this spring, patients with an appointment at the Medical Center will be able to simply place their hand over a small boxlike device that will use an infrared beam to scan the unique network of veins in their palm—a pattern even more distinctive than fingerprints. This identifying palm portrait will be used to automatically register the patient and call up his or her electronic medical file for the appointment. NYU Langone is the first medical center in New York State to employ the palm-vein–scanning technology, known as PatientSecure®.

The scanners are integrated with Epic, the Medical Center’s computerized medical data-management system. They are its latest technological addition since SmartChart, the secure online portal created last year for patients. PatientSecure is carefully designed to ensure strict privacy and confidentiality. Since no two palm-vein patterns are exactly alike, there’s no chance of one patient’s records being confused with someone else’s. "Once you’re in the system," explains Kathryn McClellan, vice president for Epic design and implementation, "you won’t have to give your social security number or other detailed personal information, such as your address and phone number, every time you come to the Medical Center. You’ll be asked for your birth date, but that’s just to help the computer locate your medical file more quickly."

Palm-vein scanning is a form of biometrics, a field that uses unique physical characteristics to identify people. The Medical Center has been considering improvements to its patient registration process. After rejecting such options as fingerprinting and retinal scans, the ideal solution emerged: palm-vein scanning. In addition to being safe, nonintrusive, and easy to use, the technology has proven effective at a half-dozen other medical centers around the country. It’s so secure, in fact, that in Japan, palm-vein scans are now used instead of personal identification numbers at ATMs. One major benefit of the new device, adds McClellan, is that in an emergency, a patient’s palm can speak for them. "If a patient is unconscious or unable to communicate, with PatientSecure, we can still identify them."

PatientSecure will be rolled out at the Medical Center and physician offices over the coming months, but patients will have the opportunity to preregister. This process involves scanning and recording the patient’s palm profile, making sure that all essential personal information is entered into the Epic system along with the scan, and having a photo taken as an additional identifying feature. By preregistering, future visits will be facilitated.

"We’re very excited about this new system," says Bernard Birnbaum, MD, vice dean and chief of hospital operations. "It will greatly accelerate the registration process, ensure that the right person gets the right treatment every time, and serve to eliminate duplicate medical records while also helping to prevent medical identity theft and insurance fraud. It’s one more example of NYU Langone being at the forefront of patient-centered care."

PatientSecure is a registered trademark for HT Systems, LLC.