Smart Card

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, March 9, 2009 – The Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council today announced its endorsement of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH®) Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE™) Phase II rules. The CAQH CORE rules promote standardized and interoperable exchange of information in healthcare environments.

“As an organization that recognizes and promotes the need for security and interoperability in healthcare, the Smart Card Alliance supports the CAQH as it lays the tracks for connectable health information systems,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “Once these systems are in place, we see personal healthcare smart cards as the security foundation to enable the safe communication of patient information throughout networks.”

CAQH, a nonprofit alliance of health plans and trade associations, launched CORE in January 2005 as a means for physicians and hospitals to access eligibility and benefits information for their patients at the point of care. CORE includes more than 100 industry stakeholders including health plans, health providers, vendors and government organizations. The operating rules build on existing standards, such as HIPAA, to make electronic transactions more predictable and consistent, regardless of the technology. According to the organization, the ultimate goal of the operating rules is to decrease the amount of time and resources providers spend verifying patient eligibility, benefits, claim status and other administrative information at the point of care.

“Smart card technology complements CORE. Secure smart healthcare cards provide a solid identity management foundation for storing and accessing patient information and ensure that electronic exchanges of patient information are accurate and secure,” added Vanderhoof.

The Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council has a number of educational resources on its Web site regarding the role of smart cards in privacy-secure healthcare identity management. This includes a recently published white paper containing a complete guide to smart card technology and applications in healthcare, ”A Healthcare CFO’s Guide to Smart Card Technology and Applications.”

About the Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council

The Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council brings together payers, providers, and technologists to promote the adoption of smart cards in U.S. healthcare organizations. The Healthcare Council provides a forum where all stakeholders can collaborate to educate the market on the how smart cards can be used for healthcare identity management and to work on issues inhibiting the industry.

Healthcare Council participation is open to any Smart Card Alliance member who wishes to contribute to the Council projects.