Clear’s identity verification services are no longer confined to the airport. The company was founded to help travelers breeze through security lines, but it’s now pursuing partnerships with health systems.
On Monday, Wellstar Health System announced a collaboration with Clear. The Georgia-based health system plans to use Clear’s identity verification technology to give patients secure and seamless access to their personal health information.
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Hank Capps, Wellstar’s chief information and digital officer, declined to say whether Wellstar looked at any other companies as potential partners for its identity verification initiative, but he said the health system chose Clear because of its prominence in the field.
“Clear’s leadership in the field of identity management with the highest levels of security that also improves customer experiences at vital locations, like many of our nation’s business airports, made them an ideal partner to work with as we explore similar improvements to our digital and brick and mortar experience,” he said in a recent interview.
As the partnership takes shape, Wellstar is “vetting multiple use cases” for Clear’s technology, Capps declared. This will likely involve using Clear’s biometric technology, which uses scans of a person’s eyes and face to verify their identity.
Wellstar’s ultimate goals for the collaboration are to improve security, save patients time, reduce help desk calls and operational costs, decrease fraud risk, and drive consumer adoption and engagement across Wellstar’s digital ecosystem, he explained.
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“Imagine if a patient could simply take a selfie and automatically, securely be identified and seamlessly connected with the Wellstar digital experience at each step of the patient journey so that when they arrive in one of our locations, we can create a more seamless experience in those moments of anxiety when they need us the most,” Capps said.
Wellstar also is hoping its partnership with Clear will eliminate the need for patients to manually re-enter biographic data with each care interaction, he added.
Catalyst by Wellstar, the health system’s innovation center and venture fund, will be heavily involved in the collaboration. The Catalyst team led the negotiations for the partnership, Capps pointed out.
“As various use cases are identified [Catalyst by Wellstar] will play a leading role in the piloting and secure testing of applications before they are rolled out to Wellstar team members, patients and consumers,” he said.
When asked whether he recommends other health systems establish similar identity verification initiatives, Capps pointed out that healthcare has “traditionally lagged behind” when it comes to delivering consumers the convenient experiences they have come to expect in other areas of their lives. He argued the healthcare sector must continue to innovate and create curated experiences if it wants to meet patients’ evolving demands.
Photo: Jay_Zynism, Getty Images
