Patients & Visitors PatientSecure FAQs FAQs What is PatientSecure? How is PatientSecure beneficial for me as a patient? Why veins in your palm? Is near-infrared light safe to use? Could my scan be shared with the law enforcement? How will this impact my check-in experience at the doctor or hospital? How do I register in the system using this new system? Where will this be used? Who can use this? Is this mandatory? What is PatientSecure? PatientSecure scans the vein pattern of your palm. Vein patterns are highly unique to each person. The scan uses harmless near-infrared light, which is the same as the light of a TV remote control. The advanced algorithm processes your vein pattern to create an encrypted and protected digital file which is linked to your unique medical record. How is PatientSecure beneficial for me as a patient? This new technology helps ensure the right medical record is pulled up promptly at the time of check-in.This new process helps to eliminate duplicate and overlaid medical records and protects against fraud and identity theft. In addition, registration in the system will allow the hospital to properly identify unconscious patients, should the need arise. Why veins in your palm? Vein pattern in a palm is highly unique to each person. The biometric scan is able to detect roughly 30,000 unique points within a vein pattern, which is then converted to a numerical value that connects to your medical record. Is near-infrared light safe to use? Yes. Near-infrared light is the shortest wavelength of infrared light and is harmless. It does not give off heat and is the type of infrared light used in devices such as night vision goggles and TV remote controls. Could my scan be shared with the law enforcement? No. Palm vein scanning is not used by the legal system or law enforcement. In addition, vein pattern recognition requires blood flow and therefore is not suitable for forensic analysis. How will this impact my check-in experience at the doctor or hospital? PatientSecure will be rolled out across all registration points in the CoxHealth medical system. Once registered, you will place your right hand on the vein scanner each time you check-in to pull up the correct medical record for registration staff. Registration staff will still confirm all information is up-to-date and accurate. How do I register in the system using this new system? During enrollment fairs or during your next visit to CoxHealth you can register for PatientSecure by bringing two forms of identification. At that time, staff will pull up your record and ask you to scan your vein pattern twice to ensure an accurate reading. Once registered you will only have your veins scanned once at future visits. Where will this be used? At all registration desks across the CoxHealth system, including hospitals, doctor’s offices and clinic locations. Who can use this? All patients over the age of five are eligible to connect their palm vein pattern to their medical record. Is this mandatory? No. Patients are able to opt-out of using this system at check-in.