Health Information Technology Cyber Security Advances in Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich., Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN), the state level designated entity to improve health care quality, cost, efficiency, and patient safety through electronic exchange of health information, today announced an agreement with HT Systems, a healthcare technology leader that provides the latest innovation in patient identity management, to provide the PatientSecure biometric identification solution for healthcare providers in Michigan as part of MiHIN's growing Health Information Technology (HIT) Cyber Security Program. The agreement reduces the barrier for healthcare providers in Michigan to receive the lowest price available for PatientSecure and sets the stage for integration with the Statewide Health Provider Directory and planned Patient Directory Services.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120919/FL77026)

PatientSecure® scans a patient's palm vein pattern and links the patient to their unique medical record, providing accurate identification of every patient, preventing fraud and human errors, and reducing administrative cost of healthcare providers

MiHIN's evolving HIT Cyber Security program currently consists of the ability to conduct vulnerability assessments and continuous threat monitoring for health care networks. The offering allows organizations pursing the top level of vigilance when sharing data electronically to have high confidence their systems are achieving best practice levels of performance.

"As MiHIN continues to develop a robust HIT Cyber Security Program aligned with our mission as the State of Michigan designated entity, it is clear that solutions designed to raise everyone's confidence that individuals doing business over the network are who we think they are is increasingly essential," said Tim Pletcher, Executive Director of MiHIN. "As more organizations in Michigan adopt the PatientSecure solutions by HT Systems our state will see similar benefits in decreased medical and administrative errors related to identity as those major health systems in other states have already."

HT Systems' flagship solution PatientSecure is a biometric patient identification management system that captures an image of palm vein patterns and automatically links patients to their unique medical record providing accurate identification of every patient, improving patient safety, guarding against medical identity theft and insurance card fraud, reducing human errors and reducing cost associated with registration issues such as duplicate medical records and overlays.   PatientSecure is currently adopted by over 160 hospitals and hundreds of affiliated clinics and physician's practices across the country.  5,000,000+ patients are currently enrolled in the PatientSecure system and tens of thousands of those same patients are successfully authenticated on a daily basis on return visits. 

"The PatientSecure technology provides Michigan healthcare providers with an extremely accurate way to identify patients as they move within and between healthcare systems.  It is non-invasive, easy to use and universally accepted with a 99% patient adoption across the country," said Carl Bertrams, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HT Systems/PatientSecure.  "We are extremely enthusiastic about the MiHIN-HT Systems agreement because it takes the technology to a whole new level, placing Michigan at the national forefront of positive patient identification across disparate healthcare organizations".

MiHIN announced the agreement when participating at the HIMSS Michigan Chapter Fall Conference - HITECH Status in Michigan – Navigating for the Future of Electronic Health Records, September 25-26 at Detroit-Novi Crown Plaza, Novi, Michigan.

About Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHINSS) (www.mihin.org)
MiHIN is dedicated to improving the healthcare experience, increasing quality and decreasing cost for Michigan's people by supporting the statewide exchange of health information and making accurate and timely health care data available at the point of care.  MiHIN is the official state designated entity for health information exchange across Michigan and the future integration with the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN).  MiHIN is a Michigan nonprofit entity, functioning as a public and private collaboration between the State of Michigan, sub-state Health Information Exchanges, payers, providers, and patients.

About HT Systems
HT Systems, LLC is a healthcare technology leader, providing the latest innovation in patient identity management. PatientSecure®, the company's flagship Biometric Patient Identification Management System, links the biometric palm vein pattern of the patient to their medical record in any HIS registration, EMPI or EMR system. HT Systems is the first to successfully implement a large scale biometric patient identification system in the nation. PatientSecure is currently adopted by over 160 hospitals and hundreds of affiliated clinics and physician practices across the country. With over 5 million patients enrolled, our clients report a 99%+ patient adoption rate of our technology. With over 30 years of healthcare and healthcare technology experience, HT Systems partners with healthcare providers to develop solutions specific to the client's environment. For more information please visit: www.patientsecure.com.

Contact:
MiHIN:
Lisa Fotenakes           
MiHIN Shared Services (517) 336-5714       
[email protected]
www.mihin.org

HT Systems, LLC:
Hiroko Naito (813) 995-7576
[email protected]
www.patientsecure.com

SOURCE Michigan Health Information Network; HT Systems