Choosing an OpenID provider

Logging into this website requires that you have an OpenID Identity (refer to What is OpenID). Briefly, an OpenID Identity is used to uniquely and securely identify you as a person (this is in contrast to a traditional username and password). These identities are generally issued by third-party organizations, called OpenID Providers (or "OPs").

(Note that MedPlus employees have the option of using a password to login to this site; but this option is not available for customers.)

We will currently accept OpenID identities which have been issued by one of the following providers:

• Yahoo! — e.g., Yahoo! mail account
  Create an account or learn more
• Google — e.g., Google GMail account
  Create an account, or learn more
• Versign — Personal Identity Portal (PIP)
  Create an account or learn more

There are many other providers though; so if you have one that we don't currently accept, ask us about it. If we consider the provider to be trustworthy we may add it to our list.

The following is a quick summary of the providers we recommend.

Provider	Cost	Webmail	Security
Yahoo!	Free	Yes	Good (password-based)
Google	Free	Yes	Good (password-based)
VeriSign	Free	No	Good (password or certificate based)

If you already have a Yahoo! or Google mail account, and your site/hospital allows you to access it; then you probably want to just use it as your identity. If your site does not permit the use of web-based email, you should probably look at obtaining an identity from VeriSign.

Please note if you use a webmail account, that account must be for your personal use only and not shared with other people (such as family members). See our policies.