Technical Access to Services
Lisa Blanton, Tammy Crow, Michelle Moody
BSHS/375 - Information Systems and Technology in Human Service
March 2, 2015
Professor Sena Cross
Technical Access to Services
Technology has changed many aspects of life in America and all over the world. In many ways, it has made it easier but with that ease comes issues. Among these issues are security and continuity of a product or service. The field of Human Services is not alone in the benefits of technology since it has made reaching clients and providers much easier and affordable. Let's look at a few ways this field has been impacted.
A smart card, typically a type of chip card, is a plastic card that contains an embedded computer chip- either a memory or microprocessor type- that store and transacts data. This data is usually associated with either value, information, or both and is stored and processed within the card’s chip. Systems that utilize enhanced smart cards are in use today throughout several key applications, including healthcare, banking, entertainment, and transportation ("Smartcardbasics”, n.d.).
Since there are many reasons for and multiple target populations for smart cards, there are a plethora of groups and people who use them. According to “Smartcardbasics” (n.d.), “Banks – banks enter competition in newly opened markets such as investment brokerages, they are securing transactions via smart cards increasing trust through improved security. Two-Factor Authentication of data and value across the Internet, improving customer service, and cost reduced due to less employee time and less paperwork that can be managed electronically by the customers with a smart card. Healthcare – Because of the increase in healthcare data introduces new challenges in upholding the efficiency of patient care and privacy safeguards. Smart cards address both these challenges with secure, mobile storage and distribution to patient information, from emergency data to benefit status. It includes benefits such as rapid, identification of patients, which helps improve treatment, reducing fraud through authentication, convenient way to carry data between systems, reducing record maintenance cost. Businesses and universities – of all types need simple identity cards for all employees and students. The United States government, as well as many non-government corporations, have now incorporated a contactless reader as an access point to their facilities.
There are disadvantages to smart cards as well as the advantages and benefits discussed. The biggest problem seen is security and the need for people to know they are secure. Security also involves public perception of the technology, and who holds responsibility of the card (i.e.,. Transaction not recorded who does the blame fall on?).
The process one should go through to obtain a smart card for banking reasons is - contacting the bank to set one up, and the bank personnel will go through the process with them. The process is the same for health care when obtaining a smart card. The facility or hospital has to go through the process of getting PIN numbers or ID numbers and setting the person up in the system due to the multiple portals requiring access.
The biometric technology is one type of technology used to increase client accessibility to services. Biometric technology is a method to automatically identify a client based on physical characteristics; such as fingerprints, hand shape, behavioral characteristics (signatures and voice patterns), and eye and face characteristics. (Stitcha, 1999). The unique identification of an individual may regulate access to physical spaces, information, services, and benefits of services. The motivations for using biometric technology in client accessibility is to improve client convenience, efficiency in services, reducing fraud, enhancing confidence in using information technology and public safety and national security. One example of biometric technology is