User Authentication in Healthcare
Implementing User Authentication and Access Control Solutions in Healthcare
Increasing security and discretion – patient data and electronic health records can only be accessed and processed after successful authentication via RFID.
Patient security is enhanced and confidential patient data is protected. Access is restricted to trained and authorized hospital staff. Any access of the electronic record is documented.
An effective healthcare security solution must include both user identification (the ability to uniquely identify the individual accessing a system, record or device) and access control (the ability to grant or limit access based on the user identity).
The ideal user identification and access control system for healthcare:
- Provides easy and instant access to systems, devices and records for busy clinicians.
- Is touchless/contactless to reduce touch points for pathogen transmission.
- Is highly reliable, secure and hard to counterfeit, hack or circumvent.
- Is easy for hospital IT staff to set up, administer and maintain.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID), along with emerging Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) and Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies, is ideal for healthcare applications. RFID cards or BLE/NFC apps are more secure and easier to manage than password or PIN systems. They are also simpler and more reliable (and hygienic) than biometric solutions.
RFID leverages the ID card clinicians and hospital staff carry for building entry to provide access to everything “beyond the door.” BLE/NFC solutions leverage smartphones to do the same thing. RFID and BLE/NFC can be used for easy, contactless access to many applications, including:
- Single sign-on (SSO) to hospital systems and networks for clinicians and staff
- Print security of sensitive data
- Physical access control for secure locations
- Secure access to supply cabinets, medical devices and smart carts or kiosks.