Access Management Journal - March 2009 - (Page 15) A Standardized Health Identification Card on the Horizon By Jim Hicks The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange is creating a new standard for access services, which poses advantages for patients and employees alike. In November 2007, the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) introduced an implementation guide for a standard Health Identification Card. This new technology promises many benefits to providers, but may pose several hurdles before providers will receive its benefit. There are many advantages to the new ID cards, however, including machine readability, increased security, and improved efficiency, which make it worthwhile to Access Management. as a date of birth may be included as an option but it won’t be required. y The PDF 417 bar code is subject to the same requirements as the magnetic stripe. The images below are an example of a Provider issued card with a PDF 417 bar code. The Challenges One of several challenges still to be overcome is that the Health ID card relies on ANSI Standard INCITS 284 (also referred to as ANSI 284) as an underlying standard. A revision of ANSI 284 is expected, as early as February 2009 but there are no confirmed release dates. Another major hurdle will be vendor/software compatibility. For the machines to read the cards and retrieve the data within, vendors may have to upgrade software. The machines access the data via the card’s 3 Track Magnetic Stripe and PDF 417 bar codes. 15 Volume 33, Number 1 y 3 Track Magnetic stripe is similar to your credit card, which includes 3 tracks of information: Tracks 1 and 2 are generally used for bank card information, while track 3 is used for the Health ID Card. Issuer Identifier (discussed in more detail later), a Cardholder ID (policy or claim number), and a cardholder name. Additional information such y The card will be required to include a card Continued on page 16.
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