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Healthcare in Australia has traditionally lagged behind most other industries in terms of technology adoption . Many hospitals , GP practices and other organisations still rely on paper records , handwritten notes , siloed data stores and IT systems , and even film-based radiology images . Information sharing across providers can be inefficient and data portability is rare . It ’ s not unusual to see patients in hospitals clutching paper cards with their personal treatment details , while communication , collaboration and coordination of care processes are all challenging . However , things are beginning to change for the better and digital transformation is increasingly at the centre of government efforts to cut costs and boost efficiencies while improving the delivery of key services . My Health Record , for example , is a crucial first step in centralising and digitising patient records , to ensure a better service across healthcare providers . Better use of technology in Australian healthcare would not only give patients more control over their health and well-being , but could also reduce the administrative burden for care professionals , as well as support the research and development of new medicines and treatments .
HEALTHCARE GOES DIGITAL
In the rush to streamline processes and empower patients by migrating to cloud and app-based systems , identity and access management ( IAM ) has become vitally important . Gartner Research VP and industry expert , Barry Runyon , believes the growing infrastructure , system and support requirements of healthcare organisations ( HCOs ), alongside increasingly tight budgets and staffing challenges , are driving them towards greater cloud adoption . Cloud services are already being used in some cases to support content management , medical record systems , portals and clinical collaboration . Gartner ’ s Forecast Overview : Healthcare Provider Market , Worldwide , 2018 predicts this shift to the cloud , stating that “ healthcare systems have been sceptical about the adoption of cloud , but cost pressures and the need to reduce capital expenditure have been changing that mindset . After enduring several high-profile breaches and realizing the maturity of various cloud providers ( both in expertise and scalability ), healthcare systems are finally less sceptical than they used to be about the cloud . Growth of as-a-service solutions will continue rapidly in several areas , such as hosting , storage , security , networking and disaster recovery .”* However , HCOs are a major target for hackers , and even mistakes by employees can expose highly sensitive patient data and IT systems . Data released this year by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ( OAIC ) revealed that the healthcare sector was the most targeted by hackers , with nearly a sixth of all data breaches affecting a healthcare business . Identity as a Service ( IDaaS ) is the most reliable choice to ensure HCOs can leverage the transformative benefits of new digital platforms whilst staying safe , secure and compliant .
ENTER CLOUD-BASED IDENTITY
Australia ’ s HCOs need a way to accelerate access to patient data while minimising password management problems . They need strong , multi-factor authentication ( MFA ) to negate the risk of phishing and password stealing / cracking / guessing attacks . And they need to do all of this to stay compliant with current regulations . Doing so in a userfriendly way and with a dwindling budget is increasingly challenging . This is where single sign-on ( SSO ) can help , but organizations should be aware that legacy IAM tools are fast becoming obsolete . The truth is that on-premises IAM tools are a poor fit for the kind of modern , cloud and app-based systems HCOs are increasingly adopting . They ’ re costly , time consuming to integrate and are inflexible , requiring significant ongoing maintenance and upgrade work every time a new app is added . To manage an environment as complex as typical hospital , for example , you need to outsource IAM to the experts . IDaaS is the answer : securing access at the cloud app layer rather than the perimeter and providing granular visibility into all apps , users and devices from a single interface . It ’ s also highly scalable — new apps and users can be added and managed with ease — it ’ s reliable , easy to set-up , and there ’ s no unnecessary downtime . Cloud-based SSO enables approved doctors , nurses and others to access any cloud services with just one username , one password and one session . This helps improve productivity by reducing the time spent logging into each application ; reduces costly helpdesk password reset requests ; and improves account security as users are less inclined to use the same simple password for all apps . It becomes even more powerful when backed with MFA for extra account security , which means attackers can ’ t guess , steal or crack log-ins in any meaningful way . For HCOs currently exploring modernisation projects , IDaaS can provide a foundation for a secure transition .
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