AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - March 8, 2010) - Electronic health records (EHR) are being heralded by the Obama Administration and many within the health profession as a way to improve record keeping and prevent inaccurate medical records. President Obama is pushing the industry to make all medical records computerized by 2014.
Adoption of EHRs has been steadily growing, but still does not encompass 50% of physicians. According to a recent study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, 44% of physicians reported using an EHR in 2009.
The adoption of electronic technology presents concern over whether information can be fully secured. Current health records systems only require a username and password for authentication. According to Michael Magrath, business development director for the security division of Gemalto North America, two factor authentication will provide a higher level of assurance that the person attempting to view the EHR has proper authorization to access the system. According to Magrath, a smart card, coupled with a personal identification number (PIN) or pass phrase, will allow the person carrying the identity credential to prove with a very high level of assurance that they are the person identified by the card.
Relevant Links
- More Docs are Using Electronic Health Records -- MedPage Today, Emily Walker
- Electronic Health Records Need Better Monitoring, Experts Urge -- Science Daily
- Electronic Health Records: What's Taking So Long? -- Time, Jeffrey Kluger
- Electronic Records Translate to Better Patient Care, Doctors Say -- San Diego Business Journal, Marion Webb
- Doctors more likely to report drug side effects electronically -- Modern Medicine, Ron Rajecki
About Gemalto
Gemalto is the world leader in digital security with 2009 annual revenues of €1.65 billion, and over 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, research and service centers in 41 countries.
Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work -- anytime, anywhere -- has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure. Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM), Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.
As the use of Gemalto's software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years. For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.
About Michael Magrath
Michael Magrath, business development director for the security division of Gemalto North America, is responsible for the strategic marketing, business development and government affairs activities in the government and healthcare sectors. Mr. Magrath develops and drives consensus on legislation and policy within technology, information security, privacy, and additional security-related public policy issues. In addition to supporting Gemalto's business and policy initiatives, Mr. Magrath is committed to consumer education and advocacy through Gemalto's online resource www.JustAskGemalto.com, which provides answers to consumer questions about how to better enjoy the conveniences of the digital world. He serves as vice chairman of the Smart Card Alliance's Healthcare Council and represents Gemalto on TechAmerica's Health IT Committee, the Health Record Banking Alliance, The Secure ID Coalition and TechAmerica's Information Security Committee. Mr. Magrath is also a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and is a Certified Smart Card Industry Professional (CSCIP).