Gemalto, one of the leaders in digital security, just announced that it has been selected by the Algerian national health insurance authority (Caisse Nationale de la Securite Sociale des Travailleurs Salaries, CNAS) to be its sole provider for the rollout of the first healthcare microprocessor cards in Algeria.


Consequently, Gemalto will manage the entire project, which will include a total of no less than 7 million smart cards. Under the contract, Gemalto will provide CNAS with a microprocessor card-based turnkey solution to authenticate both healthcare beneficiaries and healthcare providers, while providing prescription traceability.

The company will assist the CNAS in starting off the production process, and ensure proper training for the CNAS personnel. For the citizens, the healthcare smart card simplifies substantially the submission of claims to the Algerian social security services by digitizing claims forms. Furthermore, it also offers a high degree of transaction security and speeds up claim reimbursements.

"We needed a partner with expertise in rolling out healthcare smart card and customization systems," said Mr Ahmed Khenchoul, General Director of CNAS. "Gemalto had a clear understanding of our needs and was able to propose a turnkey solution enabling healthcare institutions to migrate efficiently to smart card technology. By doing so, healthcare institutions in Algeria will be able to securely manage patient records and verify patient benefits while keeping patient data confidential."

Gemalto is one of the leaders in digital security with 2005 annual revenues of $2.2 billion, operations in 120 countries and 11,000 employees including 1,500 R&D engineers.