Health care facilities and clinics are among a growing number of businesses using biometric identifiers for recognition and authentication of employees, patrons, and patients. The information may include retina or iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, hand scans, facial recognition, DNA, and other unique biological information. With the increasing use of biometric technology, physicians should be aware of the impact of both Illinois law and HIPAA rules on the handling of this information.
Illinois was the first state to pass a law creating standards for how businesses must handle Illinois consumers’ biometric information. This 2008 law, the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), defines what is included as biometric information and gives individuals the right to control the use of their own biometric data. The most familiar example is fingerprint recognition for smartphone access, but facial and iris recognition is growing in use for building access.
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