Healthcare Identity Management: Assessing Industry Requirements

1. Healthcare Identity  Management: Assessing  Industry Requirements    Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in existence, mostly  because of the sensitivity of the collected data—such as social security  numbers, patient medical records, insurance policy details, and credit card  numbers. 

2. Patients expect that their data remain confidential, and they enjoy a quality  experience. This is the primary reason why modern, digital health care is based  on cooperation, and the ​opportunity is immense​.   Employing identity management in healthcare can genuinely make all the  difference. How? Let’s explain with a use case.   Almost every patient goes through multiple registration processes in their lives.  They could be looking for specialists, booking an appointment, or getting test  results. Implementing identity management in healthcare facilities can lead  medical professionals to enjoy a single view of identity, reduce human error, cut  down costs, ​improve data security and compliance​—all while optimizing their  organizational efficiency.  We also need to understand the fact that identity and access management (IAM)  solutions are more than just security tools, or they only enhance technological  skill sets. They are also the drivers of emerging healthcare opportunities.   First, though, we need to discuss what makes the control of healthcare  identities so complicated and overwhelming.      

3. Current Security Challenges in the  Healthcare Sector    Simply put, the more data compromised, the more it leads to regulatory  penalties, loss of patient trust, and bad publicity.   ● According to the ​2020 Breach Barometer​ published by Protenus, more  than 41 million patient records were breached in 2019.   ● 59 percent of the respondents surveyed in Europe and the U.S. were  concerned about their medical data​ security, while 39% were worried that  hackers would play foul with their digital data.   So, why are information networks for healthcare a priority for hackers?  

4. The answers lie in the interconnected nature of modern healthcare  facilities—namely that integrating so much critical data derived from a huge  chunk of the population makes it a noticeable target for hackers and  cybercriminals.   A few other reasons include:   1. The growing attack surface.  The transition from hard paperwork to electronic health records ( EHRs)  containing a host of sensitive patient history data has improved the consistency  and safety of patient care significantly. However, the rise in the number of  suppliers of healthcare facilities has also expanded the surface of the threat.  Governments worldwide are ensuring that all health records are digitized as  quickly as possible, yet investment in ​data technology and cybersecurity​ is  lagging far behind.  2. Patient’s lack of adequate knowledge.  Usually, patients do not have adequate knowledge of the data security hazard of  their EHRs. They do not understand the gravity of medical privacy and aren’t as  cautious.   They store their documents in unencrypted files, for instance, or even send their  results via email, which may be such an convenient way for cybercriminals to  snatch their data and hack other personal information as well. 

5. 3. The rise of ransomware and phishing attempts.  An entire device can be infiltrated by advanced ransomware and phishing  programs. Hackers can easily plant malicious scripts on a computer or steal  login credentials.   Just last week, a joint alert from Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security  Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was released with a ​warning  about the wave of ransomware attacks​ in the healthcare and public health  sector.   Similarly, IoT machines such as ventilators, insulin pumps, and other medical  equipment are insecure points of entry to the network, and firmware updates,  patches, and other enhancements should be audited.  4. Unrestricted access to computers.  Computers that are out in the open can easily invite unauthorized personnel. If  these open systems store confidential patient information, and they fall into the  hands of unauthorized staff, the consequences could be dire.   It may lead to active ​phishing​ attempts and provide hackers with a backdoor into  more vulnerable network areas. Be sure that every device that contains patient  data is stored in a safe location.   

6. 5. Lack of comprehensive identity management.  Lack of comprehensive identity and access management in healthcare leads to  weaker authentication and access control. This is where many healthcare  organizations fail.   It is too common for health facilities to exchange massive databases around the  organization. Without data access controls and robust and ​adaptive  authentication​ methods, it is difficult to authorize the right employees for the  right action.   Top 5 Benefits of Choosing the Right Identity  and Access Management Solution in  Healthcare  Protected health information (PHI) takes ten times the price of the dark web’s  financial records, and that makes any healthcare institution a highly tempting  option for hackers. There was a steep ​increase in PHI breaches in the United  States alone by 2733%​ between 2009 and 2019.  Modern identity management in healthcare is designed with an essential  security strategy for hospitals embedded just right in. IAM prevents  unauthorized people from accessing PHI and the right people from leaking it by  accident. When obtaining access to sensitive information and facilities, a sound  IAM approach would also minimize costs, decrease help desk calls, and improve  the overall patient experience. 

7. Below are a few things that identity management in healthcare businesses  actually do as a cybersecurity and convenience gatekeeper.   1. Protecting patient information.  The first benefit of identity management is healthcare is cybersecurity. Phishing  attacks, ransomware, and other malware incidents regularly target the medical  facilities, yet rarely they deploy security protocols. This is where IAM takes the  front seat.   For example, businesses can benefit from multi-factor authentication (MFA) as a  tool for next-generation identity management in healthcare. Adding multiple  layers of security is unquestionably the strongest form of authentication  available at the moment.   Similarly, ​single sign-on (SSO)​ can solve the multiple login points paradox by  offering patients a single set of credentials to authenticate to multiple  accounts.   2. Securing access and seamless usage.  IAM provides a mechanism for regulating the identities of healthcare staff and  determining how they navigate healthcare systems and their responsibilities  and roles. Identity access management offers features to centralize the identity  of hospital employees, thereby making it easier to add new staff, delete old  ones, manage users, and monitor their access.  

8. It benefits physicians – as they do not have to log in manually and out of different  software many times a day. By utilizing single sign-on, they only have to log into  their sessions once and access whenever they need to without wasting much  time.   3. Caring about compliance.  Implementing identity management in healthcare makes it easier for medical  organizations and facilities to focus on patient privacy, protection, and  compliance. A few regulations that have raised the bar for safeguarding both  physical and administrative security include:  ● HIPAA​: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is an  established regulation to exercise best practices in the administrative,  physical, and technical security of patient’s data.  ● EPCS​: Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances (EPCS) is a newer  industry-specific regulation that mandates two-factor authentication and  I.D. proofing to verify a provider, among others.   ● CCPA​: ​California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)​ is a state-level regulation  that mandates institutions to provide notice to patients before they  collect personal data. They can also opt-out, read, and delete their  personal data from the hospital’s database.   A comprehensive IAM solution offers the perfect balance by meeting security  requirements and the access control needed to comply with international  regulations.   

9.   4. Improving patient experience.  The possibilities to improve patient experiences by juxtaposing identity  management in healthcare are limitless, including the ability to:  ● Automate the processes to assign and withdraw privileges as needed.  ● Support integrated healthcare delivery.  ● Modernize communication collectively through identity federation  ● Transform identity verification with ​MFA​.   This, in turn, ensures that patient data remains out of the hands of hackers.  5. Centralizing system audits.  Although IAM solutions provide preventive controls such as access protection,  they also offer detective capabilities. IAM solutions include central databases to  verify transactions, access requests, and other operations.   Security departments can produce reliable system audits and documentation  effectively through unified logging and reporting tools. Such real-time  inspections allow medical facilities to remain ​compliant​ with the law and to  escape prosecution and fines.   

10. How Can LoginRadius Help the Healthcare  Industry Stay Secure and Compliant    LoginRadius is a powerful player that checks all the major boxes in securing  patient identities and authentication throughout the healthcare infrastructure.   The ability to offer provisioning, reporting, support for identities, compliance  benefits, and easy access makes the CIAM provider one of the top contemporary  solutions for identity management in healthcare.  With LoginRadius, you can integrate: 

11. ● Role-based management​: Manage access rights for application,  provision, or de-provision employees or change roles throughout your  health facility.  ● Self-serve capabilities​: Enjoy self-service functionality by allowing  healthcare professionals to request access to resources. Consequently,  managers can approve or reject them with zero IT intervention.  ● Compliance regulations​: Safeguard patient privacy and sensitive health  information via regulations like HIPAA, CCPA, and stay updated on more.  ● Seamless access management​: Improve patient and member access by  providing multiple opportunities for making access more seamless and  intuitive.  LoginRadius does identity and access management  for healthcare organizations right—with modern  authentication.  Modern authenticate is no longer just about the login screen. Rather, there are  many benefits attached to it, including auditing, monitoring, provisioning,  deprovisioning, enforcing security policies, multi-factor authentication  (2FA/MFA), social login, and single sign-on (SSO).  Addressing all of the above depends heavily on an effective ​identity  management capability​. Consequently, LoginRadius authenticates patients and  healthcare professionals with any third-party identity provider running on any  device or the cloud.   The CIAM provider solves the following modern authentication problems:  

12. ● It establishes a single source of truth for patients and staff identities.   ● It allows SSO where a set of credentials can ​unlock login access​ to  multiple accounts.   ● It offers centralized provisioning and de-provisioning of patients and  healthcare professionals.  ● It provides the ability to add extra security layers with stronger  second-factor authentication (2FA/MFA).  ● It offers out-of-the-box API security and fraud detection to protect  against cybercrime.  ● It enables consent management to manage and version consent during  registration or login.  Conclusion   Times are changing—IAM is no longer an administrator-driven set of capabilities.  It is gradually shifting to an integrated approach where patient experiences are  being optimized, and security and compliance capabilities are being enforced in  the zest to accommodate organizational effectiveness.  Moving forward, identity management in healthcare organizations is about to  take a giant leap. LoginRadius can help you with that!