Starting next week, patients at NYU Langone Health facilities will experience a streamlined check-in process with the introduction of Amazon One. This contactless service utilizes palm scanning to securely and rapidly verify patient identities, aiming to enhance the overall patient experience.
This marks the largest third-party deployment of Amazon One to date, and the first in a healthcare setting. The rollout is expected to be completed across all locations by the end of the year. Amazon One has seen successful deployments in various environments, including stadiums, airports, fitness centers and retail stores.
“One of NYU Langone’s goals is to leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance the patient experience,” says Nader Mherabi, executive vice president and vice dean, chief digital and information officer at NYU Langone. “We make all decisions with our patients in mind first and foremost, and we’re always looking for ways to improve their experience through technology. As with all new initiatives and technology of this scale, we will optimize over time and meet the needs of our patients.”
Amazon One combines palm and vein imagery with a 99.9999% accuracy rate, and recognition time of less than one second. The system is 100 times more accurate than two irises, which reduces human error and streamlines identity checks. The integration with Epic, NYU Langone’s electronic health record system, simplifies the process for patients. Enrolment is simple, secure, and free. It does not store or access health information. Patients can enroll online or at a local clinic prior to their appointment, and link their Amazon One Profile to NYU Langone.
Generative AI was used to train Amazon One, creating a neural network that learned from millions of artificial hands to achieve high accuracy levels. The system analyzes many attributes of the palm and selects the most distinct identifiers to create each person’s unique palm signature. During check-in, patients simply hover their palm over the Amazon One device for identity confirmation.
Colleen Aubrey, SVP of AWS Solutions, stated, “With Amazon One, we’ve created a palm recognition system that respects privacy while making check-ins simpler when patients have more important things on their minds.” The system also offers strong privacy and data security features. Palm recognition is considered more private than alternatives, and data is protected through AWS’s high security standards. Palm data is encrypted and sent to a secure environment in the AWS Cloud, with multiple security controls in place. Amazon One does not collect or receive protected health information from providers.
Furthermore, the technology streamlines the check-in process, which allows healthcare offices to serve more patients efficiently, reduce administrative burdens, and concentrate on delivering high-quality care. Looking ahead, AWS plans to work with hospitals and health systems for additional applications of Amazon One, such as credentialing for access to high-security areas to increase operational efficiency and security.
