New project at Floyd Memorial Hospital uses patients' fingerprints

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Keeping identities safe: that's the idea behind a new project at Floyd Memorial Hospital.

Officials are using fingerprints to link patients to their medical information. It's a move they hope will prevent medical identity theft.

Patients checking in have their fingers scanned so the system can lock in their assigned code. More than 98 percent of patients agreed to try the technology in its first week.

Fingerprints are not stored, and use of the technology is voluntary.

Copyright 2014 by WDRB News. All rights reserved.