Case Study: Carolinas HealthCare System achieves 0.01% duplicate-record rate and 70% faster check-in with Imprivata PatientSecure

Improve patient safety while eliminating duplicate medical records with biometric patient identification

Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) is a large not‑for‑profit health system serving North and South Carolina with over 900 locations, 60,000 employees and 11.5 million annual patient interactions. CHS faced persistent patient identification problems—patients were reluctant to provide sensitive data at registration, and the system struggled with duplicate records, overlays and medical identity theft that threatened safety and revenue.

CHS implemented Imprivata PatientSecure palm‑vein biometrics across more than 1,000 registration points (including emergency departments) to provide accurate, nonintrusive identification. The deployment yielded rapid adoption (about 99% voluntary use), cut check‑in times by 70%, and slashed duplicate medical record rates from roughly 8–10% to 0.01% (about 80× better than the national average), improving patient safety, privacy and revenue‑cycle efficiency.

Carolinas HealthCare System

Craig Richardville

Chief Information Officer