Answer: Biometric Identification
Explanation: The term biometrics refers to technologies that identify people through bodily characteristics such as fingerprints, retinal patterns, and voice patterns.
(Fingerprints are an example of biometrics—that is, body characteristics that identify individuals. Biometrics is an ideal tool for identification because the body characteristics don’t change.)
As the use of technology in medicine increases, biometrics may play a greater role in creating, accessing, and protecting the confidentiality of medical records. Biometrics can be used to
* Identify a patient. Fingerprints, for example, can identify a patient who is physically present, and voice recognition software can help verify the identity of a patient over the phone. This means of identification prevents health identity fraud, and it can instantly associate a patient, or the information generated with reference to the patient, with the correct records for both administrative and clinical purposes.
* Simplify secure access to records. Rather than memorizing and constantly changing passwords to preserve security, physicians and other health personnel can use their own biometric features that don’t change to create secure access for those entitled to access. The reliable authentication process of biometrics isn’t subject to the potential abuse that password sharing allows.
