Children's Clinics for Rehabilitative Services in Southern Arizona is using fingerprint biometrics to increase access to – and the security of – its new electronic health record system.

Officials said the new technology was the result of Children's Clinics recent transition to a NextGen ambulatory EHR after years of using paper charts.

Officials said they became challenged with managing login credentials, especially given that 40 percent of the clinic's staff are part-time contract providers who only work in the clinic a couple of times a month. In order to improve workflow, officials decided to deploy technology from Redwood City, Calif-based DigitalPersona, Inc.

"As we rolled out our new EHR system, it was important for us to make the transition easy for our providers who had to learn the new system. Our providers were already frustrated with having to learn another EHR system so we wanted the login process to be as fast and as simple as possible," said William Mayo, information systems supervisor, Children's Clinics.

"Using DigitalPersona Pro and U.are.U Fingerprint Readers allows our providers to log into our EHR system without the hassle of remembering their password," he added. "User acceptance has been positive because employees can quickly and easily access their applications from any exam room PC with just their finger."

"The fingerprint readers have been the best part of the whole EHR roll out. I love it," added Sydney Rice, medical director, Children's Clinics. "Implementation went smoothly and our providers quickly became fans. It is wonderful to avoid yet another username and password."  

Officials said Children's Clinics was able to significantly speed up the login process and boost security compliance with industry regulations.

"DigitalPersona solutions help companies address the latest HIPAA and HITECH regulations as well as streamline workflow processes," said Jim Fulton, vice president of marketing, DigitalPersona, Inc. "This gives healthcare organizations, such as Children's Clinics, the security they need while actually increasing employee efficiency and overall productivity."