Healthcare identity security and zero trust: what changes now?

TL;DR: Healthcare leaders are being pushed toward stronger IAM, zero trust, and third-party visibility as policy uncertainty grows, resource constraints persist, and vendor-linked disruption remains high, according to Imprivata. The decisive issue is no longer just compliance, but whether identity controls can protect clinicians and patients without adding operational friction.

NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Imprivata: healthcare cybersecurity strategy under policy uncertainty

By the numbers:

• Only 14% of organizations report that their security teams are fully staffed.
• 47% of organizations experienced a vendor-related breach last, breach last year.
• Imprivata research shows that 51% of healthcare leaders see shared mobile device use accelerating patient care.

Questions worth separating out

Q: How should healthcare teams strengthen identity security without slowing clinicians down?

A: They should focus on controls that reduce friction at the point of care, such as passwordless authentication, MFA, centralised credential management, and continuous session monitoring.

Q: Why do vendor dependencies matter so much for healthcare identity governance?

A: Because third-party access can become the easiest route to broad operational disruption if it is not mapped, reviewed, and offboarded like any other identity path.

Q: What breaks when healthcare zero trust is applied only at the network layer?

A: It leaves the actual identity and session risks untouched.

Practitioner guidance

• Centralise clinician access governance Unify authentication, session monitoring, and credential administration for EHRs, shared workstations, and mobile access so security teams can detect shadow access and stale accounts before they affect care.
• Map vendor dependencies into identity reviews Add third-party access paths, offboarding status, and service dependencies to every review cycle so vendor risk is evaluated as part of day-to-day identity governance.
• Tune zero trust for clinical workflows Apply least privilege and continuous verification in ways that preserve rapid care delivery, especially where nurses and clinicians use shared devices and time-sensitive systems.

What's in the full article

Imprivata's full article covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:

• The article expands on how healthcare budgets and staffing constraints shape security decisions in practice.
• It includes more detail on passwordless adoption, shared-device access, and continuous monitoring in clinical settings.
• It outlines the HSCC SMART Toolkit and how healthcare organisations can use it to map dependencies and continuity risks.
• It also connects identity governance to patient safety, vendor risk, and operational resilience in more practical terms.

👉 Read Imprivata's analysis of healthcare cyber resilience, IAM, and zero trust →

Healthcare identity security and zero trust: what changes now?

Explore further

View Full Forum →  |  NHI Foundation Course →