In the previous years, many healthcare systems were utilizing manual patient verification techniques. With healthcare industry fraud forecasted to reach USD 4500 Million by the year 2026, institutions within this sector are looking for alternatives to make their procedures more secure. Shifting towards digital solutions for verifying IDs online can offer numerous compelling advantages for the healthcare sector, some of which are listed below.
1. Patient Data Privacy
With the healthcare sector increasingly automating its systems, the introduction of online identity verification can potentially lead to data privacy risks. Patient records are sold for around USD 1,000 each on the dark web. This amount is 10 times higher than the number of credit card data breaches as patient records maintained by hospitals contain a wealth of sensitive information. Simply using anti-malware or antivirus software for safeguarding patient data is no longer sufficient. With the help of automated systems, patient identities can be accurately identified and authenticated, making sure that individuals are not using fake or stolen information. Additionally, patient credentials can also be verified through facial biometric systems online through which fraudsters can be filtered out while onboarding.
2. Compliance
Regulatory requirements under the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) make it mandatory for organizations to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures. AI-powered online ID verification solutions can assist healthcare institutions to comply with these regulations by offering AML monitoring services that check new patients against exclusion lists, including all State-Excluded Medicaid lists and OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), sanctions lists. Therefore, it is increasingly imperative to verify ID online through verification solutions in the healthcare sector.
3. Fraud Prevention
Medical identity theft is a form of theft perpetrated by cybercriminals who steal Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to gain access to medical services or to submit false claims to Medicare or health insurers. In July 2020 alone, more than 30 data breaches were reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, each of which affected more than 500 people. Many industry experts forecast medical identity theft to continue skyrocketing in the Covid-19 era due to insufficient investment by healthcare institutions in IT security.
By verifying ID online, chances of medical identity theft can be reduced as the process of patient verification requires a government-issued ID document, an authentic selfie of the patient, and can also include a liveness check to ascertain that the patient is physically present. An additional benefit of identity verification solutions is that during the selfie-taking process, a 3D face map is created within seconds that acts as a digital representation of the patient’s face. The same face map can be used to verify the patient’s identity before telemedicine consultations or while prescribing drugs.
4. Efficiency
AI-powered online identity verification solutions equip the medical staff with the latest patient verification methods that help provide a seamless pre-registration service. Typically, identity verification of patients occurs when new patients register their accounts online. The ability to swiftly access patient records from a centralized database allows medical service providers to be more efficient in delivering patient care.
Digital identity verification solutions can also facilitate the instant processing of insurance claims. When patient details are captured, including proof of postal code and address, it translates into a reduction in lost invoices. When accurate patient information is collected upfront, following up on their accounts becomes an easy task. On the other hand, this efficiency also helps the patients by accelerating the payment process and substantially reducing claim denials, thanks to accurate data collection of their name, DoB, and Social Security number.
Bottom Line
As online healthcare services and telemedicine continue to make progress, the benefits of verifying ID online through automated solutions will continue to increase. The time has come for this sector to completely abandon paper-based and manual processes and instead adopt advanced biometric-based approaches to determine a patient’s digital identity. Frequent assessment of personal patient details should be made an essential part of patient identification policy in the healthcare sector. This can not only help significantly improve patient satisfaction but also help medical entities in deterring fraud and meeting compliance standards.
