Will your staff accept being fingerprinted?
In the waning hours of the Georgia Legislature’s 1995 session, a bill was slipped through that required digitized fingerprints of all drivers be placed on driver’s licenses.
The resulting storm of public protest about the state invading individuals’ personal privacy forced the Legislature to reconsider its action. Could there be a similar reaction from medical personnel reluctant to trust their fingerprints to your hospital?
A survey commissioned by The National Registry in St. Petersburg, FL, appears to discount that potential problem. The company hired Alan F. Westin, a professor of public law and government at Columbia University in New York City, to conduct a survey of public perceptions about fingerprinting. The results were as follows:
• Seventy-five percent said it was OK to prevent someone from assuming their identity.
• Ninety-one percent said it was OK for entry to high-security areas.
• Eighty-one percent said it was OK for screening applicants for government benefit programs.
• Seventy-seven percent said it was OK for verifying the identities of people cashing large checks.
• Seventy-six percent said it was OK to identify persons using credit cards for major purchases.
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