Online Health: Identity Verification for Telemedicine Services
8 Jun 2020
As the current state of the global pandemic gets serious, the online telehealth and healthcare services look towards the evolving and robust technology of identity verification systems. It is a perfect way to uphold regulations and remain compliant. And GetID couldn’t be more perfect for online telemedicine and healthcare services to have accurate, instant, automated, and streamline the onboarding process.
Telemedicine in healthcare has become the need of the hour since the beginning of the COVID-19. Besides, online healthcare services don’t want to limit their practical approach when it comes to modern health systems.
That said, long before the pandemic, the need for online identity verification was still dominant. Naturally, countries don’t want to wake up to the nightmare of an outdated healthcare system. The answer to that need is GetID that could serve to transform national healthcare solutions.
Online Identity Verification Services and the Role of GetID
GetID, for instance, understands the importance of digital health products. It requires a certain degree of trust and scalable onboarding process. Today, individual patients want to engage with an online medical professional and get reliable information.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that identity verification has become a crucial stepping stone for the healthcare sector. The World Bank confirms that patient identification is already significant when it comes to conveying effective and instant healthcare service to different types of patients.
In fact, it can set new standards for public health management in the foreseeable future. A digitalized identity verification solution can facilitate healthcare providers to improve healthcare quality. Furthermore, it can help maintain and organize medical records, decrease medical fraud, and safeguard patients’ data.
GetID offers identity verification with complete global coverage. It is a new age where AML and KYC checks take place all-in-one digital space. GetID is ideal for businesses that want to simplify their regulatory process and fast-track ID checks. With the help of liveness detection and face match, GetID utilizes the KYC process that verifies and authenticates documents and speeds up the onboarding process.
GetID offers the identity verification solution that comes with a single verification process and allows users to significantly decrease the time it takes to verify clients. Apart from the web, mobile integration and compatibility on Android and iOS devices are also available.
The truth is that national healthcare services need to undergo a transformation and shift their systems to online healthcare and telemedicine. And GetID is the answer that healthcare providers are seeking right now. It represents a perfected online ID verification that can help more lives.
The Growing Issue of Medical Identify Verification
Unfortunately, numerous healthcare providers in different countries are still utilizing paper-oriented systems to organize patients’ records. However, the medical providers that have started to utilize Identity Verification digital systems have managed to simplify the onboarding process and speed-up checks.
On the other hand, when medical providers accumulate patients’ valuable data on weak digital platforms, it leads to inefficient patient care and capacity problems. Mostly, the lack of Identity Verification leads to medical identity theft.
According to a MIFA paper, it is a fraudulent theft of one or more individual’s health and identifiable information. It means, as a patient, you could lose your personal information and Social Security number. What’s even more troubling is that fraudulent activities often involve using the personal information of several individuals to create separate identities.
Realistically, MIT or medical identity theft is now one of the biggest fraudulent problems of the past few years. The worst part is that most patients are not even aware of the severity of the threats. When you encounter check or credit card fraud, it means you lose money. However, MIT can lead to physical harm or even possible loss of life.
The most severe consequences of MIT often lead to life or death scenarios. Here’s the thing, when other individuals use a patient’s medical identity to get prescription drugs or other medical services, that data can mix into the victim’s EHR (electronic health record).
For instance, assume that an elderly individual contacts a medical professional with the urgency of a back injury, and gets administered penicillin. Now, that individual is allergic to penicillin, and it could be life-threatening.
However, if the patient loses his medical identity verification, someone else can use the same medical ID card for different treatments. Furthermore, the overlap between the federal government and private-issued medical cards is common. As a result, that patient’s medical records will be corrupted when the fraudster combines more medical conditions.
That said, the recent increase in medical identity theft has to do with the conversion of patients’ digital records. For example, fraudsters often obtain the digital medical records of the patients to sell on the black market.
As more healthcare service providers move to digital records, the medical information of a multitude of individuals is susceptible to data breaches. Sure, there are monetary incentives from the federal government, but it is not a viable or permanent solution.
In fact, despite strict security guidelines, cybercriminals are still targeting online medical information of patients. The data breaches were, in fact, close to 30% just a few years ago. Surprisingly, even inside the medical employees of a healthcare service provider can steal and then sell valuable medical identities.
Consumers need to realize the value of their personal information and medical records.
How the Use of Identify Verification Can Improve Digital Healthcare Services
It is clear that the telehealth and online medical providers need a flawless Identity Verification system to ensure the safety of the patients’ data and quick onboarding process. Healthcare providers and general physicians are usually not trained enough to protect patients’ online data.
With the advent of Identity Verification, telehealth professionals can authenticate patient identities via automated systems. It is an effective way to ensure that an individual is not utilizing stolen data. With the help of document verification, online healthcare services can easily identify patients.
In addition, healthcare providers can authenticate the credentials of a patient via digital facial recognition. It allows telehealth providers to determine the true identity of a particular patient and offer the best possible care effectively.
Identity Verification (IDV) Process: How does it Exactly Work?
The Identity Verification software GetID offers is far more sophisticated as compared to other programs in the market. It flawlessly authenticates clients and verifies the entire process in no time. Also, the process of identity verification is quite straightforward.
With GetID, all you have to do is take a snapshot of your identification documentation. Once you take the pictures on both sides of the document, you can take your own photo via desktop camera or mobile device.
After that, you will take a few random actions (blink, smile, or move your head) to confirm liveness detection. And voila, your onboard process is complete and ready to use in a matter of moments. It may sound “too” straightforward, but that’s how far the Identity Verification tech has evolved.
The best aspect, however, is how you gain complete freedom to manage your KYC procedure via the main admin panel. That’s because you can see numerous KYC vendors and application information in a single dedicated place.
Advantages of IDV for Telemedicine and Healthcare Services
As telemedicine and online healthcare services evolve, the advantages of Identity Verification also increase:
Instant Data Access
Access to data from a central location has become a stepping stone in healthcare services. Just because the healthcare center or doctors have access to secret archives means it is safe. In fact, it is the instant accessibility that matters the most where medical professionals can find out whether a patient is allergic to something or not.
Moreover, there’s a good chance for more federal government measures in Europe and America to protect patients’ health records. IDV offers heightened data privacy and protection of accumulated health records.
Management of Patient’ Records
With the help of automated Identity Verification processes, healthcare providers have the chance to access and manage patients’ records in a heartbeat. Furthermore, online healthcare services can share and transfer data among various healthcare institutions.
Also, it is a great way to decrease duplicate testing and render more swift patient care. Patients can also control what information they want to share with the healthcare providers. It is a collective record that patients can update over an extended period in real-time.
Opportunity to Collect Data and Conduct Research
As the COVID-19 continues to dismantle the global healthcare system, doctors and healthcare personnel should be able to quickly gain information on patients’ condition. However, it is also a chance to accumulate new data and conduct research for the betterment and development of online healthcare systems.
Besides, advanced technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence can pave the way for telemedicine and online healthcare services when it comes to automated processes. Digital Identity Verification systems can allow telehealth services to check the history of patients’ medical conditions instantly. Healthcare professionals can use this information to carry out research and development.
Data in Real-time
Today, many digital healthcare solutions can get access to data in real-time without thinking twice. Realistically, the information medical professionals can access after a week is not as efficient as information access in real-time. It is a whole new level that allows better examination, diagnosis, and interpretation of patients’ conditions.
Protection of Patients Records
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that with more automated information, there is more cybercrime taking place in online healthcare systems. In fact, healthcare providers don’t want to suffer the consequences of identity theft. Identity Verification secures patient records that would normally be sold or exposed to the highest bidder on the dark web.
In hindsight, patient records require extra safeguard measures that only Identity Verification systems offer to the healthcare providers. Online Identity Verification effectively gets rid of the added fraud risk and as well as identity theft.
Gone are the days when antivirus or anti-malware were enough to protect the patient records. Contemporarily, online healthcare services need to encrypt patient records from the cybercriminal vultures.
Better Insurance Management
Filing insurance claims can be an exhausting procedure for everyone involved. Automated Identity Verification, however, can offer online healthcare services efficient systems to quickly process hundreds and thousands of insurance claims without too much effort.
As a result, telehealth services would be able to review the benefits of each patient’s insurance claim more efficiently. But it equally offers patients a clear picture to access healthcare programs and added benefits. Besides, outdated systems often lead to double payments, which can be a nightmare for healthcare providers and patients.
Additional Benefits of Robust Identity Verification System
Primarily, efficient online identity verification usually comes with three essential benefits:
Decreased Abandonment Rates
For several healthcare services, there’s almost always a possibility of fraud detection. However, when you significantly increase the total fraud checks, the assurance to identify a person becomes easy. However, the higher abandonment rate eventually serves as the extra friction.
Decreased Fraud
Authentic identity verification can ensure cut out fraud detection. It can verify that the government-based IDs are accurate. It is a form of validation that healthcare systems can implement to make it easier to associate individuals with their current ID.
Decreased Compliance Risk
Identity Verification can uphold the compliance mandates set forth by the GDPR and HIPAA. Whether it’s KYC or AML, the last thing healthcare services want is to bear the burden of hefty financial penalties.
Functions and Features Online Pharmacies, Telemedicine, and Healthcare Services Can Get from GetID
Here are some of the features and functions that healthcare and telemedicine services can avail from GetID:
Regulatory Compliance
Healthcare services can expect up-to-date regulatory compliance. You can perform KYC and conduct AML checks effortlessly.
Integration Flexibility and Customization of Services
GetID provides an omnichannel Identity Verification solution that end users can utilize on a preferable device, such as a desktop, laptop, or mobile device.
In fact, smartphone compatibility is one of the main reasons that make GetID highly comfortable and efficient to use. Users can also authenticate their identity without any geographical constraints.
Cost-Efficient Solution
When online healthcare and telemedicine services get selective features, they can save plenty of costs. However, the automated onboarding procedure of GetID is as cost-effective as it gets. Apart from minimal set-up costs, you can increase your conversion rates to new levels.
Digital Identity Verification: Avoid these Common Mistakes
How to verify identity online can come across as complicated for patients. Online healthcare services need to understand the high stakes that come with choosing the right Identity Verification system. It is, after all, a decision that can impact your entire healthcare system. Therefore, pay attention and avoid the following common mistakes:
Assumption of Full Global Coverage
You’d be surprised just how many online identity verification services falsely claim to have world coverage. Most of the time, these outdated solutions utilize the technology that can, at most, read a machine-readable zone or a barcode.
The same technology that identifies passports cannot verify different versions of federal government-based identification cards. The solution should do more than just read a random barcode – it should be able to scan the front and back of an online identification to make sure the available data matches the information on the barcode.
Don’t Fall for the 100% Automation
Several modern identity verification systems come with an exclusive form of machine learning and automation. Well, it is not necessarily a bad approach, but it does inherently present limitations. The truth is that humans have a natural tendency to spot the patterns that may not be visible to machine learning and automation.
The issue comes down to complete overdependence on automation that can create information gaps for online healthcare services. A combined effort of human touch and automated solution can offer better results. However, no one can deny that machine learning can process thousands of shared characteristics between patients’ IDs and pinpoint possible fraud.
Don’t Overlook the User Experience
The online healthcare sector can learn the lesson from the frustration of banking consumers. The fraud detection and user experience go side-by-side. Just because you have to increase conversion rates doesn’t mean you should stop finding new ways to decrease abandonment rates.
When it comes to the ID process, the user experience matters as much as the automation. For instance, if the federal government-based identification of a particular patient is poorly lit, mistitled, or blurred, the automated solutions probably would not process the transaction.
GetID, on the other hand, returns added information to allow the patient to correct its course. If an image is mistitled or blurred, the patient can modify the information at the time of the transaction.
Don’t Forget to Test Beforehand
Whether its age verification or facial recognition, online healthcare services should test the IDV system in advance. It’s a standard precaution to assess your expectations of the Identity Verification solution and make sure the vendor offerings are not realistic.
When an online telemedicine or healthcare service decides to get the services of an Identity Verification solution, ensure that the test revolves around a significantly large dataset rather than a few online transactions. Typically, it should involve thousands of different transactions so that you could conduct online verifications from numerous cross-sections.
Don’t Overlook Mobile Compatibility
Here’s the thing, the entire point of digital health is all about remote accessibility. The traditional method to get a medical appointment would slow down because better diagnosis means more safety and convenience for the patients.
Therefore, make sure that the Identity Verification solution you choose provides the broadest channels to your patients. The good news is that modern Identity Verification systems like GetID offer identity support on mobile devices with iOS or Android operating systems.
Keep an Eye on Current Telehealth Laws and Regulations
The underlying risks that come with online healthcare services and telehealth are no secret. In the US, the HIPA or Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act is the compliant standard. The fact remains that cybercriminals are getting smarter.
Therefore, there is a need for a more suitable and acceptable Identity Verification solution, such as GetID, that raises the security bar. After all, telehealth exposes a multitude of patients’ identity theft, medical lawsuits, and fraud.
That said, the implementation of the compliance standards is not black and white. It means each state could have its healthcare regulations and rules. In fact, some of the states have fragmented compliance standards that require special care.
For instance, the telemedicine regulation parameters in Texas’ rural communities can be tricky to navigate. It is one of the reasons many healthcare providers feel that there should be telehealth expansion to improve the ease of healthcare delivery and build patient loyalty.
And better access to healthcare means less ill patients. Unfortunately, the telemedicine patients are always at the risk of identity theft that could compromise their safety and impact well-being. Thus, it makes sense that high data sharing and interoperability should become a new norm.
When various healthcare organizations offer well-intentioned suggestions, states follow different rules. Simultaneously, insurers devise separate strategies. Consequently, telehealth remains susceptible to uncertainty, fear, and even doubt.
In fact, it has never been clearer that online health services and telemedicine need to adopt an Identity Verification system for better care, data access, and compliance maintenance of patients.
Final Thoughts
There will always be multiple considerations such as interpersonal contacts, physical activity, diet, and area of residence when it comes to the well-being of a person. Digital health services need to understand the context of these factors to better track, gather, and analyze data.
In fact, the need for automated identity verification and onboarding services such as GetID couldn’t be more relevant. It represents an all-in-one security standard for online healthcare services. Furthermore, it allows medical professionals to access the data in the blink of an eye.
Amidst the global pandemic, healthcare professionals can still strive for a better world – A world where new projects can maintain or improve people’s health. It is no wonder so many healthcare solutions now want to concentrate on most recent telehealth initiatives.
The challenges in national healthcare solutions will continue to persist. However, it is time to move past traditional healthcare practices that cannot handle the pandemic. A robust digital healthcare solution may just be the strategy that the industry needs to thwart the pandemic and move towards a more progressive healthcare transformation.
If you are ready to be a part of modern digital healthcare, learn more about automated identity verification of GetID here. Head over to GetID website to get more detailed information.