Addressing ID verification could spur PHR adoption

If providers adopted a set of common practices used for validating the identity of online consumers, not only would their records be safer, it's more likely that the PHR would become popular, according to a new report. The report, which was published by Connecting for health, a public-private collaborative operated by the Markle Foundation, suggests that not only should providers do in-person checking of identities (using, say, government-issued identification), they can also use "knowledge-based authentication," a method which uses a person's knowledge about facts only they should know to establish their identity. In addition, the group recommends using confirmed identities managed by other reliable parties, such as financial institutions.

To get more information on the group's recommendations:
- read this Healthcare IT News item [1]
- read the Connecting for Health paper [1] (.pdf)

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