The need to verify the identity of patients, providers, and partners has never been as critical with the introduction of the Internet revolution in healthcare. A potent platform to enable trust, security, and compliance in remote healthcare services is digital identity verification or electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC). By enabling telemedicine to digital prescriptions, eKYC not only leads to the protection of sensitive patient data, but also aligns healthcare providers to regulatory requirements such as those required by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the UK.
The Rise of Remote Healthcare
The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the use of remote health services, and telemedicine, video consultations and prescription e-mails have become the norm. They are used despite the situation still in the pandemic due to convenience and accessibility. But this change has brought new challenges: how will providers ensure they can confirm the identity of distant patients? What can organisations do to keep unqualified professionals out of the care delivery process? That is where eKYC comes in.
What Is eKYC?
Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) is a digital process used to verify the identity of individuals using online tools and databases. Originally used in banking and financial services to combat fraud and money laundering, KYC process has now expanded into other regulated sectors—including healthcare. Typically, eKYC involves:
- Publication of official ID-related documents (e.g. passports, NHS cards)
- Smartphone or webcam liveness or face match.
- Checking of information with databases of government or healthcare.
It is to make a person what he asserts to be and all this without necessarily having to check on him/her physically.
Why Identity Verification Matters in Healthcare
In healthcare, identity verification is not only a security practice but a safety and compliance issue. Here’s why it’s critical:
1. Patient Safety
Wrong or misrepresented identity can result in medical mistakes, wrong diagnosis, or even death. The basis of safe healthcare delivery is to ensure that the right patient gets the right care.
2. Data Protection
Healthcare providers work with a large amount of sensitive data. eKYC can improve the security of data access by authorized persons, minimizing the risk of data loss and the violation of the GDPR norms.
3. Regulatory Compliance
The CQC requires healthcare providers in the UK to act safely, effectively and well-led. These standards include the verification of the identity of both the patients and the staff, particularly with digital and remote services.
4. Fraud Prevention
Remote services are susceptible to identity theft, counterfeit prescriptions, and unlicensed practitioners. eKYC leaves a digital footprint which can be used to prevent and identify fraud.
How eKYC Works in Remote Healthcare Settings
In a remote healthcare context, eKYC can be integrated directly into the patient registration or appointment booking process. Here’s how a typical workflow might look:
- Initial Sign-Up
A new patient is asked to upload an ID document and take a selfie via their smartphone or webcam. - Document Verification
AI-powered tools scan the ID for authenticity and match it against official government or NHS records. - Face Matching & Liveness Detection
The selfie is analysed to ensure it matches the ID photo and that the person is physically present—not a deepfake or photograph. - Cross-Database Checks
Optional checks may be run against NHS, insurance, or criminal record databases to verify eligibility and safety. - Approval & Secure Access
Once verified, the patient can access services securely, knowing their identity is protected and validated.
Benefits of eKYC for Healthcare Providers
eKYC implementation can deliver some important benefits to remote healthcare providers:
- Better Operational Performance: Identity checks are automated, therefore, less human resources are required and faster onboarding.
- Increased Confidence: The services with high data protection and security are more likely to be used by patients.
- Cost Savings: Fraud prevention and reduction of identity-related mistakes can save the company thousands of costs in legal and regulatory expenses.
- Scalability: eKYC enables providers to accommodate an increasingly larger number of patients without downgrading verification quality.
Challenges and Considerations
- Although eKYC is a very useful tool, it has its considerations:
- Data Privacy: It is the responsibility of providers to make sure that eKYC data is stored and processed according to the GDPR and other data protection regulations.
- Access to Technology: Not every patient is smartphone or digitally literate. Other approaches should be provided.
- Integration: eKYC solutions should be integrated into the current healthcare management systems and processes.
- False Positives/False Negatives: There is no perfect system. The providers should have a method of dealing with errors in identity verification.
The Future of Digital Identity in Healthcare
As the NHS continues to explore digital transformation, the integration of eKYC into standard patient journeys is becoming more likely. In the future, we may see:
- Biometric NHS cards
- AI-driven fraud detection across patient records
- Blockchain-based health identity management
All of these developments point toward a healthcare system where digital identity verification is foundational, not optional.
Conclusion
Digital identity verification through digital kyc is not just a technological upgrade—it’s a necessity to the safe and efficient provision of distance health. Digital health is expected to continue to grow; thus, verifying identities safely, scalably, and in a compliant way will be necessary to keep patients trustful, reduce fraud, and meet regulatory requirements. Today, healthcare providers that adopt eKYC will be better placed in the future of medicine, a digital, decentralised, and patient-centric future.