“Smart card technology holds great promise for the healthcare industry,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “The Healthcare Council provides a forum where all the stakeholders can collaborate to educate the market on how the smart cards can be used and to work on issues inhibiting the industry.”

Dr. Paul Davis, Council co-chair and CEO of Uniliance Health, outlined the priorities for the Council. “There are numerous initiatives around the world using smart cards for a variety of secure healthcare applications. One of the group’s initial projects will be to examine current implementations and describe the benefits and best practices for smart card deployment in various healthcare environments.”

“Smart cards can play an important role in the implementation of privacy- sensitive access to secure personal health information, support safer patient care and help reduce the overall costs associated with the delivery of that care,” said Frank Avignone, Council co-chair and business development manager for Healthmeans.

The Council will also seek partnerships with standards-setting groups such as HL7 and other organizations whose mission it is to achieve common standards for electronic medical records.