If we consider Identity and Access Management (IAM) as a security discipline that enables the right individuals to access the right resources at the right times for the right reasons, it is therefore a crucial undertaking for any enterprise, but one cannot over-emphasise the importance of IAM in the healthcare sector. Here, a patient’s right to privacy is paramount and any inappropriate access to sensitive patient data is a serious abuse of that right.
Here, a patient’s right to privacy is paramount and any inappropriate access to sensitive patient data is a serious abuse of that right.
Challenges
Outdated Systems
Healthcare organisations retain a large volume of often complex data for each patient or partner organisation that is often saved on outdated systems. These systems can be expensive to update and hard to improve with better protection capabilities. Hence most healthcare organisations abstain from making technical changes which leaves them especially vulnerable to security breaches.
Constant Change to Role Based Access
A daunting challenge for any IAM solution in the healthcare space is to keep up with the ever-changing role-based access to which healthcare providers are entitled. Given the fluid nature of roles that doctors, nurses, physician assistants assume, it is imperative that any technical solution grants access to the right people at the right times and more specifically at the time when they need it most. One essential feature of a robust IAM solution is that access is revoked when roles change and/or healthcare professionals leave a particular team, department or organisation.
Large, disparate user populations
This is especially important in the case of an integrated medical care environment or when a government of a country is trying to create an efficient e-health platform. Managing various stakeholders including patient and family along with the healthcare provider, insurer, employer etc. becomes a herculean task for the most robust of IAM solutions.
Username and Password is no longer enough
Authentication has to look beyond mere username and password. Additional measures such as multifactor authentication and breached password detection facilities are now commonplace. Furthermore users cannot be expected to remember and manually enter a different set of credentials for different services. Not only is manual entry cumbersome and subject to the vagaries of memory but it will also waste precious minutes that users – especially in an emergency – simply cannot spare.
- Blog: Identity in Healthcare
- Whitepaper: Identity Management in Healthcare
- Blog: Applications for ID cards in Healthcare
- Case study: Pharmacy uses Magicard 600 to produce COVID Pass
- Video case study: Discover how Magicard partner, Heyden Securit in Germany helped their Pharmacy customer introduce an easy-to produce and durable COVID Pass.
