Biometrics can be a matter of life and death in health care. Biometrics can establish personal identity from the moment a patient enter the care of a physician or medical facility, and that identity can be transmitted accurately and securely throughout the health care system.

Biometrics can also be used to ensure that only authorised medical personnel can access sensitive hospital facilities, such as nurseries and operating rooms, to see to it that prescribed medications are delivered to the proper patients, and to safeguard the privacy of patients’ medical records by assuring that only authorised personnel can view them.