CLEAR, the security identity company that lets members skip the ID line at airports, has rolled out new technology at Wellstar Health System.
Using CLEAR Verified, patients at the Georgia health system will soon be able to check in for appointments with a single selfie. A pilot of the program went live last week at Wellstar Avalon Health Park, where 19 CLEAR kiosks are stationed throughout the facility. Further rollout is expected in the second half of 2024.
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The process is paperless from start to finish. A few days before their scheduled appointment, patients receive a text or email asking if they would like to opt in for CLEAR check-in and answer a few questions online. When they arrive for their appointment, they'll simply scan their face using the forward-facing camera at a CLEAR kiosk. And that's that.
Although CLEAR's 22 million members pay $189 per year to bypass ID lines at airports, the new health care product is entirely free to Wellstar patients.
Wellstar began working with CLEAR to co-develop the technology about a year ago, Dr. Hank Capps, the health system's executive vice president and chief information and digital officer, told Newsweek. Patients commonly complained about the inefficient check-in system, which required them to fill out multiple forms and was inconsistent from one Wellstar location to another.
The system searched for a solution that would streamline the process—and found its answer in airports and sports stadiums.
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"We believe that not all health care problems are going to be solved by health care solutions, and that other industries at times have preceded bringing technology and capabilities into the health care industry," Capps said.
CLEAR has been operating in airports for about 14 years, and began investing in CLEAR Verified—the tech that expands the company's capabilities beyond the terminal and into "partner ecosystems"—about two years ago.
Although Wellstar is not the company's first health care partner, their work together is unique, David Bardan, CLEAR's general manager, head of health care, told Newsweek. The technology is integrated into Epic (Wellstar's electronic medical record), allowing health system administrators to watch from the back end as patients move through the check-in process.
"This integration work that we did with Wellstar is intended to be launched by other health systems as well," Bardan said.
Data security—a major concern for modern health systems—is an area where CLEAR excels, according to Bardan.
"A lot of traditional technology doesn't actually prove that you are you in that moment. They oftentimes prove that a device is associated to you," Bardan said. "Standard methods like text messaging, one-time passcodes and multifactor [authentications] don't always prove that you are that person behind the device."
However, CLEAR's real-time facial verification can provide an extra layer of security. It also eliminates the common clerical errors associated with human data entry—for example, a mistyped name or address, which can lead to duplicate patient records.
Wellstar does not intend for the CLEAR kiosks to replace the employees currently running the check-in process, according to Capps. Rather, the system hopes the machines will alleviate workers' administrative burdens and allow them to spend more time greeting and directing patients.
"This project is not about creating operational efficiency from a cost standpoint," Capps said. "It really is about making the experience better for patients, and then for those team members, because now they have more time to do what they really want to do, which is connect with people and help people.
"These [employees] are the first people that greet you when you walk into a building, and they'll continue to play that incredibly important role."
Correction 5/21/2024, 11:00 a.m. ET: The spelling of David Bardan was corrected.