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Kaiser-Permanente turns to fingerprint access readers

TORONTO -- Prompted by growing security concerns, Kaiser-Permanente, America's largest health plan provider, announced today it is installing NKL Cash Handling systems equipped with Bioscrypt fingerprint access readers throughout its facilities in California.

Patient co-payments to health insurance plans are on the rise and physician practices are collecting increasingly larger sums of cash creating a growing security concern in health care facilities. Kaiser-Permanente made a decision to invest $3 million dollars in FKI Security Group's NKL Cash Handling systems.

"We made the decision to replace existing drop safes with intelligent safes that offer cash dispensing and biometrics entry," explained project manager Jeri Bennett of Patient Business Services for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. "Our primary goal was to decrease the distance an employee had to travel in a building to make deposits. We see this as a very real life safety issue for employees."
NKL Cash Handling products from FKI Security Group in New Albany, IN were first to market with a biometrics entry solution for cash handling in September 2002. FKI Security Group selected Bioscrypt's self-contained fingerprint verification module, the MV1200?, for all its cash handling systems. The MV1200 is designed for OEMs and embedded systems developers that want to add the power of fingerprint biometrics to their systems. About the size of a business card, the MV1200 includes a small circuit board, a sensor and software.

"We believe that biometrics is an important part of employee safety and loss prevention because it offers positive authentication with a fingerprint. PINs, encryption keys, and passwords typically need to be changed often and are easily forgotten," said Steve Aronson, director of marketing for NKL Cash Handling. "All NKL Auditlok XLV products can be upgraded with a biometrics reader in less than an hour, resulting in minimal disruption to the daily operations at the installation site. With a retail cost estimated at under $1,000, it is a very cost effective way to increase security."

Kaiser-Permanente's Folsom facility in the Sacramento Valley, California went live in October 2002. A rollout of 234 Autobank D8C units with Auditlok XLV and biometrics is anticipated in the first and second quarter of 2003 at the majority of California-based Kaiser-Permanente facilities.
"We are delighted to be the biometric technology provider of choice for NKL's Cash Handling systems," said Julia Webb, vice president of global sales and marketing for Bioscrypt. "As they continue to deploy biometrically enabled solutions with household names such as Kaiser-Permanente and YUM! Brands, they will have the full support of Bioscrypt."

The Kaiser Permanente southern and northern California operations serve more than 6.3 million members and employ close to 100,000 people including 8,000 physicians. The region is served by 11 major medical centers.
The NKL Cash Handling network will cover participating medical office buildings and hospitals. "This is very exciting technology and will make a big difference in our operations," Bennett added. "We feel we have addressed a life safety issue and eliminated any employee theft concerns as well. There is no way to cheat the system--it offers better accountability and a complete audit trail."

"Currently, we are using both biometrics and PINs numbers, but expect that by the end of 2003 we will just be using biometrics," Bennett concluded.