Healthcare Council

Health care organizations worldwide are implementing smart health cards supporting a wide variety of features and applications. Smart health cards can improve the security and privacy of patient information, provide the secure carrier for portable medical records, reduce healthcare fraud, support new processes for portable medical records, provide secure access to emergency medical information, enable compliance with government initiatives and mandates, and provide the platform to implement other applications as needed by the healthcare organization.

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

• Download description of Council mission, activities and membership

Council Resources

• Benefits of Smart Cards versus Magnetic Stripe Cards for Healthcare Applications, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council brief, December 2011

• Complementary Smart Card Guidance for the WEDI Health Identification Card Implementation Guide, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council white paper, October 2011

• Effective Healthcare Identity Management: A Necessary First Step for Improving U.S. Healthcare Information Systems – A Smart Card Alliance Brief for Government Policy Makers and Other Stakeholders, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council and Identity Council brief, March 2009

• Expert Series Videos: Health Information Exchange, Medicare Common Access Card

• Getting to Meaningful Use and Beyond: How Smart Card Technology Can Support Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council white paper, February 2011

• A Healthcare CFO’s Guide to Smart Card Technology and Applications, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council white paper, February 2009

• Healthcare Identity Management: The Foundation for a Secure and Trusted National Health Information Network, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council and Identity Council brief, September 2009

• Healthcare Identity Resources. This resource page lists Smart Card Alliance reports and industry organizations, resources and news relating to healthcare identity.

• HIPAA Compliance and Smart Cards: Solutions to Privacy and Security Requirements, Smart Card Alliance white paper, September 2003

• Identity Management in Healthcare, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council webinar, September 22, 2009

• Implementation profiles of healthcare organizations using smart cards

  • French Sesam Vitale Health Card
  • German Health Card
  • Memorial Hospital webinar presentation
  • Mount Sinai Medical Center Personal Health Card
  • Queens Health Network
  • Wyckoff Heights Medical Center webinar presentation

• Medical Identity Theft, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council webinar, June 8, 2010

• Medical Identity Theft in Healthcare slide show

• Medical Identity Theft in Healthcare, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council brief, March 2010

• Smart Card Alliance Comments Public Comments on Stage 2 of Meaningful Use, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council comments submitted to ONC, February 2011

• Smart Card Applications in the U.S. Healthcare Industry, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council white paper, February 2006

• Smart Card Technology in Healthcare: Frequently Asked Questions, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council and Identity Council document, May 2009

• Smart Cards in U.S. Healthcare: Benefits for Patients, Providers and Payers, Smart Card Alliance Healthcare Council white paper, February 2007

• Smart Health ID Cards: Addressing Challenges with Patient Identity Management and Authentication Webinar, Healthcare Council webinar, September 2011

Council Management and Membership

The Healthcare Council is managed by a steering committee made up of participants from across the healthcare and smart card industry. The Healthcare Council steering committee and officers are:

• Chair: Michael Magrath, Gemalto
• Vice Chair: David Batchelor, LifeMed Card, Inc.
• Secretary: Anna Fernezian, CSC
• Gurpreet Manes, Oberthur Technologies
• Bob Merkert, Identive Group
• Matthew Neuman, Giesecke & Devrient

The Smart Card Alliance recognizes the top three individual contributors in each of the industry councils and the council “honor roll” – the individuals who were leading contributors and participants in the council projects and activities.

• 2011 Council Honor Roll
• 2010 Council Honor Roll

Smart Card Alliance members who are active in the Healthcare Council include:

• ABnote Group
• Accenture
• Bell Identification B.V.
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Castles Technology, Co., Ltd.
• CSC
• Datacard Group
• Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC)
• Deloitte
• Diebold
• Fiserv
• Gemalto
• Giesecke & Devrient
• HP Enterprise Services
• Identive Group
• Lenel Systems International
• LifeMed Card, Inc.
• MasterCard Worldwide
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Oberthur Technologies
• OTI America
• PPG Industries, Inc.
• SAIC
• ST Microelectronics
• Sun Microsystems
• Thales e-Security
• VeriFone
• Watchdata Technologies
• XTec, Incorporated

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

For more information about the Healthcare Council or for more information on becoming a member of the Alliance, please contact the Alliance office via email at info@smartcardalliance.org.