NXP Semiconductors helps transform France’s health care system with smart card technology

New Sesam-Vitale2 health card brings new functionality and increased security to reduce fraud while accelerating transaction time

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – NXP Semiconductors smart card chip technology has been selected for use in the new French health card, Sesam-Vitale2. The contact card allows holders to sign invoices and to have secure access to their personal medical files electronically. Healthcare and insurance institutions can also benefit from the card’s increased security features and memory, by reducing fraud and increasing the speed of transactions.

France has successfully used the Sesam-Vitale health card since 1998, however the first generation cards held no photographic identification and stored only a limited amount of data. The new version, Sesam-Vitale2, includes a photograph and a much greater capacity to store information such as complementary health insurance details. In addition, with the increased storage capacity, administrative processes can also be performed faster.

“The Sesam-Vitale healthcard has become an important part of the French healthcare system. Health professionals and users have the added convenience of being able to conduct transactions quickly and easily with just the one card while knowing the process is secure.”, said Jacques de Varax, general manager, Groupement d’Intérêt Economique Sesam-Vitale. “Health insurers can process more claims, faster with a high level of security.”

“The new Sesam-Vitale health card is a good example of how smart card technology can enhance people’s lives while maintaining their right to privacy,” said Christophe Duverne, senior vice president and general manager for Identification, NXP Semiconductors. “It’s for these reasons that NXP’s smart chip technology is proving popular in many electronic identification applications, from health cards to e-passports and identity cards.”

Sesam-Vitale is a smart card-based infrastructure incorporating many components, including a telecoms network and a message service, 223,000 health care professionals, 230 health software applications, 210,000 card readers, 25 servers handling the flows and 23,000 terminals for card updating, this enables insurers nationwide to access personal information and expedite claims as quickly as possible.

About NXP

NXP is a top 10 semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has 37,000 employees working in 20 countries across the world. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in mobile phones, personal media players, TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at www.NXP.com.

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