With Facial Recognition Software and Windows 8, Your Practice Can be as Secure as a Las Vegas Casino
With Facial Recognition Software and Windows 8, Your Practice Can be as Secure as a Las Vegas Casino
Physicians’ offices are hotbeds of patient information – not just medical records, but insurance and other financial data – that must be kept secure. The amount of data is increasing, and so are incidences of information pilfering, identity theft, and fraud. At the same time that the amount of recorded data is going up, medical practices are becoming increasingly large as doctors create partnerships to better serve their patients and conserve expenses. This means that a greater number of people than ever have access to a given medical or financial record. All this information must be kept secure, but many medical practices are struggling with this requirement because keeping data secure is time-consuming and can reduce the efficiency of the practice as staff members spend time logging in and out of computers and going for help when they forget
their passwords.
Enter facial recognition software. Though it may sound like something out of a science-fiction movie, this type of security has been refined to the point that many medical practices are using it to keep data secure by controlling the “faces” allowed to access data. Here’s how it works and why you should consider it for your practice.
Biometric facial recognition software “learns” a person’s facial features and matches them to a particular username and password during an initial “getting to know you” period. Then, when a staff member sits down at a computer, a webcam sends information about the person’s facial features to the software, which logs the individual into the system. When the “face” moves out of range of the camera, the user is logged out so an unknown user can’t simply walk up to and use the computer. Other biometric
security systems include fingerprint, voiceprint, and eye (iris) recognition programs. Facial recognition software is used:
In law enforcement
In banks
In casinos (to locate banned individuals)
In hospitals and medical practices
At special events where large crowds will be present (to find wanted criminals)
During elections (to verify that each person has only one vote)
In information technology departments
Biometric facial recognition software decreases the need to memorize passwords (to reduce the security risk, users are periodically required to verify their usernames and passwords), which is especially helpful given that current computer security guidelines mandate changing passwords at least once every 90 days. It facilitates work flow because it can be programmed to log users in and out in a manner that is conducive to practice efficiency.
Patients are impressed with the technology and appreciate that up-to-date methods are being utilized to keep their data secure. Microsoft’s Windows 8 will include My PC Knows Me technology that promises to make this a reality. Thus facial recognition software is a valid and valuable choice for many medical practices.
Article from articlesbase.com
