Prisons in England will be provided with biometric-based computer controlled methadone dispensing systems (CCMDS) under a framework agreement between the Department of Health and NEC UK.

Under the agreement, NEC will deliver CCMDS to up to 100 prisons in England, with ongoing technical support and consultancy for five years. Phase One, in which CCDMS will be implemented in 72 prisons, started in December 2007. The Department of Health has approved the relevant primary care trusts to implement CCMDS within their local prisons.

The system includes biometric software, the network infrastructure, computer hardware and a methadone dispenser, and is being delivered in conjunction with partners Methasoft UK Ltd and Human Recognition Systems Ltd.

CCMDS enables the accurate and controlled dispensing of prescribed methadone to prisoners addicted to heroin, according to the requirements outlined in their individual treatment record. It uses a combination of biometric identifiers, such as a fingerprint or iris scans, to identify the correct person and access the prisoner’s treatment record before dispensing methadone.

The system prevents accidental over/under-prescription and unauthorised usage, in addition to enabling advanced personalisation of treatment and the development of an accurate, automated treatment history.

The treatment of substance addiction is a significant health challenge in prisons. The use of CCMDS enables a simple, efficient and secure method for providing tailored and effective healthcare treatment to inmates, in line with the rehabilitation duty of care. Participation in CCMDS is not mandatory for prisoners, although uptake is high, and there is no infringement of personal security or human rights as the system does not physically store ‘images’ of biometric data, only the coding which enables an individual to be identified.

David Payette, CEO and President, NEC UK commented: “CCMDS is a compelling example of biometric technology being used in a challenging real-life environment and clearly demonstrates that biometric-based identification systems are simple to implement, manage and use. Biometric authentication and verification will continue to become more prent as the requirement for tighter security and absolute verification of an individual increases.”

Dave Marteau, Offender Health Substance Misuse Lead at the Department of Health, commented: “Biometric-based systems provide a level of patient safety that is highly desirable in a busy treatment environment. Our larger prisons see ten new patients per day, and have as many as three hundred patients on treatment at any one time. Biometric recognition linked to a computerised prescription is an excellent patient safety support to our clinicians.”

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