New York University health provider deploying Amazon palm scanning
New York University Langone Health is making history as the first healthcare service to use Amazon One palm scan technology in the solution's largest-ever third-party rollout.
Starting the week of March 10, 2025, patients at select NYU Langone Health facilities will have the option to confirm their identity at check-in using the Amazon One palm-based recognition service.
Initially released in 2020, Amazon One is a proprietary, generative AI-based technology that lets customers use their palm signature to pay or present a loyalty card at a store, as well as perform activities like enter a stadium or badge into work.
The solution uses custom-built algorithms and hardware to create a person’s unique palm signature. This implementation marks the largest Amazon One third-party deployment to date and the first Amazon One deployment in a healthcare setting.
The rollout is expected to be completed across all NYU Langone Health facilities by the end of the year.
"One of NYU Langone’s goals is to leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance the patient experience," says Nader Mherabi, executive VP and vice dean, chief digital and information officer at NYU Langone. "We make all decisions with our patients in mind first and foremost, and we’re always looking for ways to improve their experience through technology. As with all new initiatives and technology of this scale, we will optimize over time and meet the needs of our patients."
According to Amazon, its Amazon One palm scanning technology has a 99.9999% accuracy rate and recognition time of less than one second. Amazon One combines palm and vein imagery for biometric matching.
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosted cloud subsidiary of Amazon worked with Epic, NYU Langone’s electronic health record system, to integrate Amazon One for identity authentication in NYU Langone’s patient check-in process.
Patients can enroll in Amazon One online from home or by using Amazon One-enabled devices at NYU Langone locations before their appointment and link their Amazon One Profile to NYU Langone in a few minutes.
[READ MORE: Amazon rolls out Amazon One palm recognition app]
"Health care is deeply personal and often stressful,” said Colleen Aubrey, senior VP of AWS Solutions. “With Amazon One, we've created a palm recognition system that respects privacy while making check-ins simpler when patients have more important things on their minds."
In January 2024, Amazon adapted its "Just Walk Out" cashierless checkout technology, based on computer vision, sensor fusion, generative AI, and deep learning technology, for use in hospitals and other health care centers.
How Amazon ensures security of NYU Langone patient data
NYU Langone uses Amazon One solely for identity authentication and does not store or access any health information. Data collected from NYU Langone patients via Amazon One palm scanning is protected in accordance with AWS's security standards, leveraging the AWS cloud, along with multilayered security controls built into the Amazon One hardware, software and cloud infrastructure to help ensure customer data stays encrypted and secure.
Palm data is not stored on a mobile device during sign up, nor on the Amazon One device. When a user scans their palm, images are immediately encrypted and sent to a secure environment in the AWS cloud, custom built for Amazon One, where their unique palm signature is created.
Multiple security controls protect data at all times, including, but not limited to, encryption, data isolation, and dedicated secure zones with restricted access controls.
Amazon One does not collect or receive health care records from providers, and Amazon One palm data is not used for marketing purposes. If patients prefer not to use Amazon One, they are still able to have access to health care services and verify their identities in different ways at their doctors’ offices. Amazon One users can unenroll and request deletion of their palm data at any time.
