Switch Health joins with IBM to launch AuraPass, a privacy-first vaccine and testing verification system Français
TORONTO, Sept. 10, 2021 /CNW/ - Switch Health today announced that the company is teaming up with IBM to integrate its AuraPass with IBM Digital Health Pass to expand AuraPass' capabilities to generate and verify COVID-19 health credentials. AuraPass is Switch Health's Canadian-made, privacy-first solution for users to securely manage and share their COVID-19 vaccine status and COVID-19 test results. Offered for free to users, AuraPass is a three-step medical record created to provide a secure patient-centric verification solution to confirm a user's vaccine status and/or COVID-19 test results where required.
As the global economy reopens, more countries will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination status. AuraPass allows Canadians to once again participate in their favourite activities when they are ready, like global travel, attending a concert or sporting event, or dining out in a restaurant by securely managing records in a convenient digital health credential, at no cost to the user. AuraPass integrated with IBM Digital Health Pass will be compatible with Canadian and international protocols to help facilitate the safe return to travel.
Once an individual uploads a test or vaccine credential, they enable AuraPass to certify that the person has been vaccinated and/or tested negative for COVID-19 prior to boarding a flight or being granted access to a venue. This provides individuals with a seamless, safe, and secure authentication experience for their own COVID-19 health credentials.
"AuraPass is a patient-focused, easy-to-use industry solution to help Canada reopen safely," said Dilian Stoyanov, CEO at Switch Health. "Using IBM Digital Health Pass, we are bringing data, technology, and expertise together to empower individuals to share their COVID-19 health credentials without the worry that their personal information is at risk."
"We are pleased to be integrating IBM Digital Health Pass with Switch Health's AuraPass to help individuals verify their COVID-19 health credentials, if needed, in a way that preserves privacy of their personal health information," said Frank Attaie, Vice President, Technology Sales at IBM Canada. "IBM is invested in collaborating with COVID-19 testing and vaccination providers globally, including Switch Health in Canada, around digital health passes."
AuraPass will hold historical vaccination and COVID-19 test result data for registered Switch Health patients through its encrypted blockchain technology. Accessible to everyone in Canada, it is powered by Switch Health's secure, proprietary patient portal, ASMO, which already has over one million users in Canada. ASMO currently allows for the secure integration and sharing of health data between the patient, trusted laboratories, and public health authorities in Canada.
Built on IBM blockchain technology, and in Canada, hosted in IBM's newest Public Cloud Multizone Region (MZR) Data Centre, the IBM Digital Health Pass is designed to enable organizations to digitize and verify COVID-19 health credentials for individuals based on criteria specified by the organization or destination country such as COVID-19 test results or vaccination status. Privacy is central to the solution. The digital wallet can enable individuals to maintain control of their personal health information, without exposing the underlying personal data used to generate the pass.
About Switch Health
Switch Health Solutions Inc. (Switch Health) is an industry leader that is transforming how healthcare is delivered in Canada through cutting edge decentralized next generation diagnostics and patient-focused digital solutions. Switch Health developed an end-to-end, innovative, and accessible testing-solution in Canada's fight against COVID-19, with its at-home and mobile collection kit to test Canadians safely, rapidly, and reliably for COVID-19. Switch Health's services are driven by its secure, proprietary patient portal, ASMO. Switch Health offers its gold standard of rapid and PCR testing in over 200 languages from the comfort peoples' homes or workplaces, with the guidance of trusted healthcare professionals and the delivery of results through some of Canada's top laboratories.
About IBM Canada
For more information about IBM Canada, visit: www.ibm.com/ca-en
SOURCE Switch Health Inc.
Media Contact at Switch Health: Jordan Paquet, Vice President, Public Affairs, [email protected]; Media Contact at IBM Canada: Ruhee Dhar, External Relations Lead - AI, [email protected]
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