Verizon has announced enhancements to its Universal Identity Services-Healthcare platform to allow for easy but secure access to electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchanges (HIEs) on mobile devices.
Launched in November 2010, UIS is a managed service from Verizon's Terremark IT services subsidiary. UIS is a software as a service (SaaS) utility that allows health care professionals to access documents using medical identity credentials.
"What the managed service does at the highest level is ID proofing, proofing that you are who you say you are," Tracy Hulver, director of products and marketing for Verizon's Identity Solutions group, told eWEEK.
Doctors can use Verizon's security credentials to access e-prescribing applications and authenticate their identity using Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.
Smartphones can act as the primary means of authentication, according to Tracy Hulver, director of products and marketing for Verizon's Identity Solutions group.
"Most people already have a smartphone, so it's not like you have to carry a separate hardware token around," Hulver said. "And you're using a device you're already familiar with, and it cuts down on the cost."
The service supports multiple form factors, including one-time password reminders via email or interactive voice response. Other form factors include user name/password and hardware and software tokens.
UIS will block authentication if hostile activity is detected from a certain IP address, Hulver said. If a doctor logs on from two different sides of the world within an hour, the service can detect the abnormal sign-on pattern.
Other new features in UIS include digital signatures for treatment plans, electronic laboratory reports and discharge orders.
In addition, Verizon has added an ID Message Center to allow physician practices to sign documents digitally and log in securely to EHRs and HIEs using a mobile application or Web portal. Through Message Center, doctors can see which user actions are pending, accepted, rejected or expired.
UIS will also now support regulation codes from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Verizon reports. The FDA's CFR-21 Part 11 guideline mandates how digital signatures can be used with the submission of electronic records.
To read the original eWeek article, click here:
Verizon Expands Health Care ID Service to Support Mobile Devices, EHRs
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