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The cards, which were first issued by Southwest Texas Regional AdvisoryCouncil (STRAC) in 2006, were being used by physicians, paramedics and firstresponders to gain access to emergency facilities and hospitals throughoutthe San Antonio area. The cards enabled all 35 hospitals in the regionaltrauma service area to be linked to a comprehensive, web-based database thatcould be updated daily to confirm card holder identity and emergency responsecapabilities.
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To work with state and Federal agencies, like FEMA, STRAC membersrecently decided to move to Oberthur Technologies' ID-One(tm) Cosmo card, aFIPS-201[1] certified dual interface smart card, to ensure interoperabilitybetween their region and federal agencies in preparation for emergency anddisaster recovery situations.
"Oberthur's cards allow us to deploy handheld authentication devices atthe perimeter of an emergency area to validate the identity of personnelarriving at the scene, regardless of whether they are from the local, stateor federal level," said Eric Epley, Executive Director, STRAC. "This alsogives us the ability to identify essential personnel who operate or restorecritical infrastructure/ key resources (CI/KR)."
"STRAC's use of Oberthur's ID-One Cosmo card is an excellent example ofhow healthcare professionals and organizations can utilize standards-basedsmart card technology to enhance services- whether it be responding to anemergency, 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 medicalprofessional authentication with patient authentication is a provenfoundational core of an effective and secure Health-IT infrastructure."
STRAC is the regional trauma and emergency healthcare council for the 22county 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 EmergencyManagement staff.
Oberthur Technologies will be demonstrating their FIPS-201-certified dualinterface smart cards at HIMSS, one of the world's largest healthcare ITexhibitions, in Atlanta (booth #9153) March 1-4.
About Oberthur Technologies
With sales of 882 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a worldleader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high qualityservices ensure Oberthur Technologies' strong positioning in its main targetmarkets:
Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrialand commercial presence across all five continents.
Website: http://www.oberthur.com
[1] FIPS 201 sets the standard PIV requirements for a commonidentification card mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12(HSPD-12).- 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.
SOURCE Oberthur Technologies
