Doctors and First Responders Rely on Oberthur Technologies in Times of Emergency
CHANTILLY, Virginia, March 1, 2010-- Oberthur Technologies, a global leader in the delivery of high
security solutions and the #1 provider of smart credentials to the U.S.
Federal government, is supplying doctors and first responders with FIPS 201
compliant, physical and logical access Personal Identify Verification (PIV)
cards to assist in response to disaster.
The cards, which were first issued by Southwest Texas Regional
Advisory Council (STRAC) in 2006, were being used by physicians, paramedics
and first responders to gain access to emergency facilities and hospitals
throughout the San Antonio area. The cards enabled all 35 hospitals in the
regional trauma service area to be linked to a comprehensive, web-based
database that could be updated daily to confirm card holder identity and
emergency response capabilities.
To work with state and Federal agencies, like FEMA, STRAC
members recently decided to move to Oberthur Technologies' ID-One(tm) Cosmo
card, a FIPS-201[1] certified dual interface smart card, to ensure
interoperability between their region and federal agencies in preparation for
emergency and disaster recovery situations.
"Oberthur's cards allow us to deploy handheld authentication
devices at the perimeter of an emergency area to validate the identity of
personnel arriving at the scene, regardless of whether they are from the
local, state or federal level," said Eric Epley, Executive Director, STRAC.
"This also gives us the ability to identify essential personnel who operate
or restore critical infrastructure/ key resources (CI/KR)."
"STRAC's use of Oberthur's ID-One Cosmo card is an excellent
example of how healthcare professionals and organizations can utilize
standards-based smart card technology to enhance services- whether it be
responding to an emergency, treating a patient or working with Electronic
Health Records," said Patrick W. Hearn, Oberthur's VP of Government and
Identification Markets - North/Central America. "The creation of proper
infrastructure of medical professional authentication with patient
authentication is a proven foundational core of an effective and secure
Health-IT infrastructure."
STRAC is the regional trauma and emergency healthcare council
for the 22 county region in and around San Antonio called Trauma Service Area
P (TSA-P). They issue cards to Paramedics/EMTs, hospital-based physicians,
physician-based mid-level practitioners (PAs, NPs, CNSs, etc) and Emergency
Management staff.
Oberthur Technologies will be demonstrating their
FIPS-201-certified dual interface smart cards at HIMSS, one of the world's
largest healthcare IT exhibitions, in Atlanta (booth #9153) March 1-4.
About Oberthur Technologies
With sales of 882 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a world
leader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality
services ensure Oberthur Technologies' strong positioning in its main target
markets:
- Card Systems: The world's second largest provider of security
and identification based on smart card technology and associated
services for mobile, payment, transport, digital TV and convergence
markets.
- Identity: Leading international supplier for the manufacture and
personalization of secure identity documents such as passport, identity
card, driving license or health care card - traditional and electronic
- and associated services for both governmental and corporate markets.
- Security printing: World's third largest private security printer
specialized in high security for the production of banknotes, checks
and other fiduciary documents in more than fifty countries.
- Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of
intelligent systems to secure cash-in-transit and ATM.
Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an
industrial and commercial presence across all five continents.