New Data Shows Hospitals Lose Millions of Hours to Logins, Driving Demand for Single Sign-On

Healthcare IT teams have struggled to balance cybersecurity compliance and clinical efficiency. Each new digital system required for care delivery, like electronic health records (EHRs), prescription services, lab portals, etc., adds another login to a busy clinician’s workflow. Many juggle up to 20 separate credentials per shift, according to new research published by Advances in Health Information Science and Practice (AHISP). The peer-reviewed study, covering 55 hospitals across four nations, found that clinicians collectively lose millions of hours each year to logging in, draining both productivity and morale.

While the financial costs are significant, the human toll is even greater. Clinician burnout has become pervasive, and digital friction ranks among its top drivers. The study points to single sign-on and access management (SSO/AM) technologies as a key solution. Facilities that reduced screen-time fatigue and security friction with SSO/AM reported higher staff job satisfaction and smoother workflows.

“The minutes clinicians save add up to better care, faster decisions, and safer data,” said Dr. George A. Gellert, researcher and external medical advisor to Imprivata, in a recent Enterprise Security Tech article. In some hospitals, staff who once bypassed security measures out of frustration, such as logging out of a workstation or device after use, can now fully comply with privacy mandates, strengthening both cyber hygiene and patient trust.

“Clinician time is the most valuable currency in healthcare,” said Daniel Johnston, MRes, BSc, RN, Associate Chief Nursing Informatics Officer and Director of Clinical Operations at Imprivata, in the article.

Research shows that SSO/AM has freed 3.3 million clinician hours annually, equal to 278,000 twelve-hour shifts—and generated £54.1 million ($68.7 million) in value. On average, each hospital reclaimed nearly £1 million in productive time.

Since its introduction, EHR adoption has symbolised both progress and pain—being crucial for digitising care while layering on complexity. The new findings shift the narrative from authentication as a security checkpoint to a clinical performance lever. As healthcare organisations face staffing shortages and rising cyber risks, modernising digital identity and access management may become as vital to outcomes as imaging technology or electronic prescribing.

As healthcare organisations continue their digital transformation journey, this research indicates that the future of healthcare innovation lies in solutions that reduce cognitive burden while fortifying digital resilience.

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