AZ Sint-Lucas Brugge secures patient data and streamlines clinical workflows

To securely share patient information and give healthcare professionals quick access to healthcare applications at the point of care, AZ Sint Lucas Brugge switched to Imprivata's single sign-on solution. The Imprivata OneSign solution not only offers strong authentication options but also ensures that the necessary healthcare applications are automatically launched when logging in with a badge.

Searching for the most suitable SSO solution for the hospital

Securely sharing clinical information is essential for AZ Sint Lucas Brugge Hospital. For this reason, IBM's SAMESSO single sign-on solution was implemented several years ago. Because the existing single sign-on solution didn't fully meet the current requirements within a hospital context, the AZ Sint Lucas Brugge IT team began searching for a new solution. The new SSO solution needed to better align with the workflows, healthcare applications, and the Citrix-based VDI environment. Kristof Duthoy, ICT Manager at AZ Sint Lucas Brugge, explains: "With a mainstream SSO solution, we were only partially successful in accelerating the workflow of doctors and nurses. Because users frequently had to log in and out to access healthcare applications and patient information, valuable time was lost. Time that could have been better spent treating patients."

Direct access to all necessary data

"After reviewing several solutions, we chose Imprivata OneSign, a proven SSO solution in the hospital sector," says Kristof Duthoy. "The frequent logging in and out to access the network, desktops, laptops, and healthcare applications has been completely replaced by physical badges. We use staff badges for this. Doctors and nurses only need to identify themselves once per shift via two-factor authentication: Specifically, they log in once per shift with their password and badge."

This approach offers significantly better protection of confidential data and reduces the risk of unauthorized access. During the development of the solution, each employee's badge was linked to the existing Active Directory infrastructure of AZ Sint Lucas Brugge.

To further accelerate the employee workflow, AZ Sint Lucas Brugge integrated Imprivata's single sign-on and authentication solution with desktop virtualization. Computer sessions continue securely in the background after the user has logged out. They appear exactly as they were left after logging out when the doctor or nurse holds their badge against the card reader of the next workstation.

Kristof Duthoy continues: "In the initial phase, we linked the Imprivata OneSign solution to the NexuzHealth EHR solution and set it up for 100 users and 30 workstations. Creating the SSO profile went smoothly because Imprivata makes it easy to automate login processes for applications. We have now created the necessary SSO profiles for all healthcare applications." Focus on protecting medical records

Kristof Duthoy: "The Imprivata OneSign solution makes it easier for our hospital to prove that we have systems in place that protect patient privacy. The solution allows us to perform usage audits, track application access in real time, and report on who, when, how, and where accessed the network and healthcare applications.

With Imprivata OneSign, every healthcare worker saves time.

Soon, all 1,077 healthcare workers at AZ Sint Lucas Brugge will use their badges to log in and out of healthcare applications. The solution is a prime example of how innovative technology can be used to optimize healthcare delivery.
The Imprivata solution also offers advantages for the IT team: "The Imprivata OneSign SSO management tools offer rich functionality and are easy to use. This frees up system administrators for other tasks." The ability to support role-based access management is useful, making certain patient information available only to employees with approved access. Furthermore, the SSO solution allows us to set up specific workflows. An example of this is the so-called "four-eye" confirmation when administering an increased dose of medication to a patient.

Satisfied with the end result

Kristof Duthoy: "During the transition to the Imprivate solution, we received excellent support from our ICT partner AXI in collaboration with Imprivata. We are very satisfied with the end result. Besides improving efficiency for healthcare professionals and providing excellent security for patient data, Imprivata OneSign has reduced the amount of time we spend on SSO administration tasks. We find Imprivata OneSign to be an SSO solution that provides the right answers to the needs within a hospital."