MedicFP LLC, a new vendor that focuses on combating phantom billing and other healthcare fraud, and Fujitsu will debut an identity validation product that scans palm veins at HIMSS16.

The challenges to healthcare provider and payer organizations are clear: Patients are not being identified accurately upfront, identities are being stolen from patients, and fraud is rampant.

To that end, the Fujitsu and MedicFP partnership incorporates Fujitsu’s palm-vein biometric scanner as part of MedicFP’s Verify solution, which is designed to accurately identify a patient’s identity and eligibility before service is rendered or a claim is created, according to MedicFP CEO Wendell Elms.

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Elms explained that at the point of care, a provider can use MedicFP’s Verify software and the scanner to confirm the identity of a patient and then link providers and payers to that patient’s credentials and eligibility, after a palm-vein scan and credentials are stored within a healthcare organization’s information systems.

MedicFP chose palm-veins as opposed to retinas or fingerprints for a variety of reasons, most significantly because the company said palm veins provide a more absolute and unique identity than any other part of a person’s body.

“The success rate with scanning retinas, fingerprints, faces and voices are not as good as with the palm-vein,” Elms said. “With fingerprinting, for instance, there is much higher room for error because fingerprints can be worn down. Further, with fingerprinting, people are afraid to touch things in hospitals for fear of disease. The palm can hover over the scanner.”

[Also: Raymond Aller says biometrics a crucial next step for patient safety]

Elms added that a big problem providers have is patient misidentification. According to the Journal of Patient Safety, 440,000 patients die each year because of medical errors caused by misidentification. “That is where the palm-vein scanner can come in and help solve the problem,” Elms said.

An estimated $320 billion a year is wasted on fraud in healthcare, according to research by Fair Isaac Corp. Of the $320 billion in fraud, about $150 billion is tied to phantom billing, according to a study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Phantom billing is the practice of billing an insurer for services or tests that are unnecessary or never performed.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT