Standard password use continues to undermine healthcare security and clinical efficiency.

Healthcare organisations have invested heavily in cybersecurity training, phishing awareness, and stronger password policies. Yet breaches, workflow disruption, and operational strain continue—and new data reveals why. Not only is the problem that passwords are being stolen, but that they are no longer a reliable security control in healthcare.

NHS England has introduced a new depreciation timeline for CIS1, requiring trusts to move completely to CIS2 by 28 February 2027, when access to CIS1 will be removed. Andrew Harrison, Director, Product Management - International at Imprivata, discusses the drive for more secure access to electronic patient record systems that is affecting hospitals in the UK and across Europe. Importantly, he explains how healthcare organisations can migrate to these new systems despite limited resources while also maintaining legacy systems.

Healthcare organisations are increasingly recognising the heavy toll that slow, manual authentication processes like long, complex passwords place on clinicians, as new peer-reviewed research highlights how login demands continue to hinder care delivery.

Critical industries are reaching a technological inflection point. As healthcare, public safety, and manufacturing rapidly modernise, 2026 is poised to cement trust, identity, and intelligent automation as the core drivers of resilience and efficiency. AI is accelerating operational change, the workforce is becoming increasingly mobile, and cyber threats are evolving faster than legacy systems can respond.