Identity and access management in healthcare: What healthcare executives should know

Healthcare organizations must secure access without disrupting care delivery. Modern identity and access management strategies help reduce risk while improving clinician efficiency.

What is identity and access management in healthcare?

Identity and access management (IAM) in healthcare is the framework of policies, technologies, and processes that make sure the right individuals can access the right systems and patient data at the right time. In healthcare, IAM must support fast-moving clinical workflows while protecting highly sensitive data, such as protected health information (PHI), making it more complex than in most other industries.

In simple terms:

IAM controls who gets access, to what, under which conditions, and how that access is monitored.

Why IAM is critical in healthcare

Healthcare is one of the most targeted industries for cyberattacks, and access-related vulnerabilities are a primary entry point. Although the rate and severity of healthcare data breaches have declined in the past couple of years, the following statistics from The HIPAA Journal show that the need for strong identity management for healthcare has not lessened:

• In 2025, over 700 large healthcare data breaches were reported in the U.S.
• These breaches exposed up to approximately 62 million patient records
• Hacking and IT incidents caused more than 80% of breaches
• The largest industry data breach of all time is still the 2024 Change Healthcare ransomware attack, which impacted an estimated 192.7 million individuals

This is not just a cybersecurity issue; it directly affects healthcare security operations and patient care. Large-scale incidents have disrupted claims processing, delayed care, and exposed systemic weaknesses in access control.

Key takeaway for healthcare executives:

Weak identity and access management is no longer an isolated IT risk, but an enterprise-wide operational, reputational, and financial risk.

What are the biggest IAM challenges in healthcare?

Healthcare organizations face distinct access management challenges:

• High volume of healthcare access points: shared workstations, mobile devices, and remote access create a large attack surface
• Dynamic user roles: clinicians, contractors, and staff frequently change roles, locations, and permissions
• Password-related risk: password fatigue leads to insecure behaviors and increased attack exposure
• Fragmented systems: EHRs, legacy systems, and cloud apps often lack unified identity controls
• Balancing speed and security: delays in access can directly impact patient outcomes

These challenges explain why traditional IAM approaches often fail in clinical environments. Healthcare organizations need purpose-built healthcare solutions.

What are the core components of modern IAM in healthcare?

Strong identity and access management for healthcare organizations should include:

• Passwordless access tools like single sign-on (SSO), facial authentication, and multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Adaptive, risk-based authentication that adjusts authentication requirements based on contextual risk signals
• Streamlined mobile device access so clinicians can easily and securely use digital tools at the point of care
• Biometric identity verification that embeds high-assurance, positive patient identification into workflows
• Tracking and monitoring to enable simple audits for compliance and risk detection

Adoption is increasing, but gaps remain. Healthcare IT and security leaders overwhelmingly see passwordless authentication as essential, with 85% rating it as very important (63%) or mission-critical (22%) to the future of healthcare security and efficiency. Yet only 7% of organizations have fully adopted passwordless access for clinical and nonclinical staff.

Why healthcare is moving toward passwordless authentication

Passwords are a persistent weak point in IAM. At the same time, regulatory pressure is increasing. U.S. health authorities have proposed stronger healthcare cybersecurity requirements under updated HIPAA security rules, signaling a shift toward more robust identity controls.

Passwordless authentication addresses both security and usability challenges by replacing passwords with:

• Biometrics (fingerprint, facial recognition)
• Proximity-based authentication (badges, mobile devices)
• Smart cards or hardware tokens

Benefits of passwordless IAM in healthcare:

• Faster access for clinical workflows
• Reduced risk of credential theft and data breaches
• Lower service desk burden
• Improved clinician satisfaction
• Simplified audits for accountability and regulatory compliance

From an executive perspective, passwordless is not a feature, but a strategic direction.

How IAM impacts safety, security, and operations

IAM failures are not abstract risks. They have measurable consequences:

• Ransomware attacks disrupt access to patient data and delay care delivery
• Poor access controls increase the likelihood of unauthorized access or data exposure
• Ongoing technology friction contributes to clinician burnout
• Data mismanagement can lead to legal, financial, and patient safety risks

Healthcare systems depend on continuous, secure access. IAM is foundational to maintaining that continuity.

How to improve IAM in healthcare

A practical starting point for improving IAM in healthcare includes:

• Assessing current IAM gaps and risks
• Identifying high-risk users and access points
• Building a phased passwordless strategy
• Expanding SSO and MFA protocols
• Introducing adaptive, risk-based access controls

Organizations that take a structured, phased approach are better positioned to reduce risk without disrupting care delivery.

Learn more: The future of passwordless authentication in healthcare

To learn more about how healthcare organizations are modernizing identity and access management, including real-world trends and strategies, see: The state of passwordless authentication in healthcare: Ending password pain.