Secure MCU finds home in French healthcare card

NXP Semiconductors smart card chip technology has been selected for use in the new French health card, Sesam-Vitale2.

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'Interet 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".

The latest identity protection technology, based on IAS (Identification, Authentification and Signature) application software, is used in Sesam-Vitale2.

The new card contains Common Criteria EAL5+ security certified NXP SmartMX chip technology.

The 36Kbyte EEPROM public key infrastructure contact microcontroller offers highly advanced encryption hardware and physical hacking counter measures.

The chip's software is using NXP's advanced common criteria security certified cryptographic software library.

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.

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