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25/06/2026 3:11 pm
TL;DR: Shared-use mobile devices save healthcare organisations an average of $1.1 million annually and 99% of leaders expect usage to rise, but 44% still lack a comprehensive mobile policy, according to Imprivata’s 2025 state of shared mobile devices report. The real issue is not device availability but whether identity, access, and lifecycle governance can keep pooled endpoints secure, auditable, and clinically usable.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Imprivata: how shared mobile programs outperform 1:1 and BYOD models in cost, compliance, and clinical efficiency
By the numbers:
- The 2025 Imprivata state of shared mobile devices in healthcare report reveals that organizations save an average of $1.1 million annually by adopting shared-use devices instead of 1:1 or bring-your-own-device (BYOD) models.
- (99%) anticipate usage will increase in the next, icipate usage will increase in the next two years.
- The report highlights that 44% of healthcare organizations lack a comprehensive mobile policy.
Questions worth separating out
Q: How should hospitals govern shared mobile devices without slowing clinicians down?
A: Hospitals should govern shared mobile devices with identity-driven authentication, automated check-in and check-out, and a clear policy for device custody and session closure.
Q: Why do BYOD models create more governance risk in healthcare?
A: BYOD increases governance risk because hospitals lose standardisation over device configuration, app versions, and data handling.
Q: What breaks when shared device handoffs are handled manually?
A: Manual handoffs break accountability and create avoidable delays because no one can reliably prove who had the device, whether access was closed, or whether a return was completed cleanly.
Practitioner guidance
- Bind mobile access to identity and session control Use passwordless authentication and single sign-on so clinicians can open a session quickly, but require automated check-in and check-out so access is returned cleanly when the device changes hands.
- Write a mobile policy that covers custody and closure Define who can receive a shared device, how it is handed off, when sessions must be terminated, and what audit evidence is retained when devices go missing or are reassigned.
- Eliminate BYOD for workflows that touch PHI If clinicians need access to sensitive records, move that activity onto hospital-managed endpoints where configuration, logging, and access enforcement are consistent and supportable.
What's in the full article
Imprivata's full article covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:
- The full survey breakdown behind the $1.1 million annual savings figure, including how respondents compared shared-use, 1:1, and BYOD models.
- The reported clinical workflow metrics, such as reduced burnout, faster patient care delivery, and higher staff satisfaction.
- The governance and access-management practices that support shared mobile deployment at scale, including device handoff and visibility mechanics.
- The article's own framing of how hospitals can link mobile strategy to measurable ROI and patient care outcomes.
👉 Read Imprivata's analysis of shared mobile devices in healthcare →
Shared mobile devices in healthcare: what governance teams are missing?
Explore further
25/06/2026 4:33 pm
Shared mobile governance is the real control plane, not the handset. The article makes a familiar but often ignored point: device strategy succeeds or fails on identity-driven governance, not on hardware count alone. In healthcare, the moment a shared device can be reassigned safely, audited cleanly, and locked down between users, it becomes a governed asset rather than an unmanaged convenience. The practitioner takeaway is that mobile strategy belongs inside IAM and lifecycle governance, not only endpoint management.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 72% of organisations have experienced or suspect they have experienced a breach of non-human identities -- 46% confirmed, 26% suspected, according to The 2024 ESG Report: Managing Non-Human Identities.
- Enterprises that have experienced a compromised NHI averaged 2.7 separate incidents in the past 12 months, according to The 2024 ESG Report: Managing Non-Human Identities.
A question worth separating out:
Q: Who should own shared mobile governance in a hospital?
A: Shared mobile governance should be owned jointly by IAM, security, and clinical operations, because the control problem spans access, device custody, and workflow readiness. If any one group owns it alone, the programme usually drifts into either poor usability or weak enforcement.
👉 Read our full editorial: Shared mobile devices expose the governance gap in healthcare IAM
