Clear partners with b.well and Verato for digital ID in healthcare

The goal is to create a single sign-on account that every patient can have access to. 

One of the biggest problems facing the healthcare system right now is the fragmentation of patient information across different databases and health systems which too often can’t communicate with each other. That makes it difficult for patients to access their own information.

Clear, a company that uses biometrics to link identity with different information sets, including credit cards, game tickets, reservations, frequent flyer numbers, flight manifests, health care identification, driver's licenses, and passports, is trying to fix this problem by creating a single sign-on account that every patient can have access to. 

"The same experiences that we see in airports – people waiting in long lines to hand over different cards in their wallets to prove who they are and what they have access to – we also see in healthcare," Caryn Seidman Becker, Clear's CEO, told VatorNews. 

"We are working to replace the clipboard in the same way we have replaced the need for physical IDs at airports."

This week at HLTH, Clear announced two new healthcare partnerships to make that into a reality: b.well Connected Health, a platform that enables health systems, payers, and employers to offer a personalized digital health experience for their populations, and Verato, a health identity company.

Through the partnership with b.well, Clear's identity verification technology will be integrated with b.well's consumer-centric healthcare solutions, allowing healthcare organizations to help consumers retrieve their health data, schedule care, and access healthcare services, without repetitive logins. 

B.well's customers are insurance companies, health systems, providers, retail pharmacies, and self funded employers; the company helps provide the populations that these companies serve with a health tool so they can be proactive about their health.

End users can access b.well via an app on their phone, or on a PC, and it allows them to see all of their health data from virtually any source, including providers, insurers, labs, pharmacies, wearables, devices and apps. The platform provides personalized insights to let them know that it's time for them, or their loved ones, to seek care, and what they need to seek care for.

Clear's solution, meanwhile, "starts with creating a universal health identity – connecting you to all the things that make you, you: your insurance information, your copay, your credit card, and your disparate electronic medical records so that patients are in control of their healthcare information," explained Becker.

"Your medical scans are your records and they should be easily accessible to you with just your face. No more waiting on hold and relying on fax machines. Simply upload your ID and snap a selfie to prove you are who you say you are, and access a single sign on, HIPAA-compliant account connecting all of your fragmented health information." 

The aim of the partnership between Clear and b.well is to provide a unified digital identity across multiple healthcare organizations, allowing them to create open, secure networks powered by consumer-consented data. 

Verato, meanwhile, helps healthcare organizations by creating the critical foundation for all consumer-centric services. That includes personalizing the digital front door, improving the care journey, better managing risk, and population health.

The company has partnered with Clear to accelerate the adoption of digital identity in healthcare, which is necessary as a recent report from the Government Accountability Office found that 45% of large hospitals reported difficulty accurately identifying patients through electronic health information, which is a threat to patient safety and disrupts efforts to coordinate care.

The Verato hMDM platform is used by over 80 healthcare brands. 

“We’re really proud that b.well and Verato are embedding CLEAR’s technology to drive better outcomes, better patient experiences and better cost efficiency for their clients and their patients," said Becker.