The Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services (MiHIN) and NotaryCam have announced a new service allowing healthcare providers and consumers to conveniently, remotely and securely prove their identities. Remote Identity Proofing Service Issuing Trusted Identities (RIPSITI) eliminates the need for costly face-to-face identity proofing by offering a 100 percent remote process through the Internet and NotaryCam. RIPSITI automatically provides a trusted digital identity and direct secure email address to appropriate health care providers and consumers.
Trusted identities with high levels of assurance are required for providers and consumers to securely share Protected Health Information (PHI) through direct secure e-mail. Providers also require Single Sign-On for improved security and streamlined workflow when accessing multiple systems requiring authentication. Trusted identities reduce the number of login IDs and passwords needed to as few as one—and all but eliminates the dreaded “password reset” that takes providers’ time away from patients.
“The evolution of healthcare information-sharing has created an urgent need for reliable, ironclad safety measures and in healthcare it is crucial for anyone accessing systems containing patients’ Protected Health Information to do so only using a trusted digital identity which offers a high level of assurance that the people are who they say they are,” said Jeff Livesay, MiHIN associate director. “In the past, proving someone’s identity required meeting face-to-face, which is a time-consuming and costly process. Our remote solution allows identity proofing to occur in twenty minutes or less without ever leaving your desk and for a small fraction of the cost.”
RIPSITI leverages highly trained online notaries acting as Registration Authorities to verify identities, which translates to high confidence that people are who they say they are. NotaryCam requires two forms of identification and knowledge based authentication techniques to validate identities, online in real time by the NotaryCam Registration Authority.
“By leveraging NotaryCam’s longstanding and proven ability to verify identities for remote notarization, we are able to fill this important need and reduce costs for issuing trusted identities in healthcare,” Livesay said. “All the service requires is a device with an Internet connection and a Webcam.”
RIPSITI matches NotaryCam’s intuitive technology with MiHIN’s network of networks to create an accurate identity-proofing process that applicants can navigate quickly and efficiently. Once connected to a live Registration Authority via Webcam, a Notary will verify and confirm an applicant’s identity and electronically finalize their trusted identity. The Notary can apply his or her eNotary seal if required.
“The role of the notary acting as a Registration Authority is to witness and identify people,” said C. Richard Triola, NotaryCam president and CEO. “By taking today’s technology tools that positively authenticate identity and applying them to an established business model, we are able to provide much safer and secure notary services. Additionally, every video session with an applicant is recorded and archived giving 100 percent auditability.”
The RIPSITI service takes applicants through a number of identity-proofing steps to acquire the highest identity standards available. These include:
►For healthcare providers, entering their National Provider Identifier (NPI) number so RIPSITI can check the NPI against the National Plan and Provider Enumeration Service (NPPES) maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
►Verifying personal information
►Answering knowledge-based assessment (KBA) questions pulled from credit reporting agencies
►Interacting with a live, online eNotary acting as a Registration Authority to verify government-issued ID using certified databases
►Recording the applicant’s signature on an identity proofing form in the presence of the eNotary and optionally notarizing the form
