Gemplus delivers healthcare ID card, software and services to Mexico’s Seguro Popular for patient data storage

Luxembourg & Mexico City–Gemplus International S.A., a world leading provider of secure card solutions announces the delivery of 3.7 million smart healthcare cards to Seguro Popular, one of the Mexican government’s social security organizations. These cards will be at the front-end of a new country-wide e-healthcare program aimed at securely storing patient information, ensuring citizens get the correct healthcare benefits and reducing paper-based administration.

The new social security cards will be distributed to those covered by the Seguro Popular healthcare scheme. Each family in the program will be given a card for use by the whole household. When the cardholders visit their doctor, important patient information can be securely accessed and additional medical information can be added in real time. Seguro Popular benefits from fewer administration costs while reducing the possibility of benefit fraud.

The order came from Image Technology Mexico, the project integrator who developed the overall e-healthcare solution for Seguro Popular. Image Technology Mexico’s CEO Gabriel Pérez Krieb stated “Gemplus’s strong position in secure healthcare solutions linked with their established presence in Mexico ensured their inclusion in the project”.

“Secure cards provide benefits for patients, healthcare professionals and us at Seguro Popular by reducing costs, securing private data and providing our citizens with their healthcare rights”, said Actuario (Actuary) Juan Antonio Fernández Ortíz, Comisionado Nacional (National Commissioner) of Seguro Popular.

The cards, based on Gemplus MPCOS technology, were first deployed in Q1 2006 and contain an e-purse, patient information and prescriptions. The information can only be read by authorized healthcare professionals once they are inserted into a reader (also supplied by Gemplus). This ensures privacy of confidential data and better control over healthcare payment and subsidies.

“Gemplus has a long established presence in Mexico”, stated Michel Canitrot, President Gemplus Latin America. “Local card production and personalization services linked with a strong partnership with Image Technology Mexico ensured a smooth integration into Seguro Popular’s ground-breaking healthcare program”.

Gemplus in Healthcare Gemplus’s experience in healthcare stretches back to 1997, when it began supplying France’s SESAM-Vitale system with patient cards, personalization services and secure card readers. A leading supplier of secure card based solutions to the healthcare market; Gemplus has taken part in most projects to date, including those in France, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, China and now in Mexico.

About Gemplus Gemplus International S.A. is a leading player in the secure card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold over 5.5 billion smart cards. Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WiFi, Pay-TV, e-government, and access control. Gemplus’ revenue in 2005 was 939 million Euros. www.gemplus.com.