How two healthcare organizations delivered secure and easy mobile access for their staff

The real challenge: Keeping mobile devices secure without slowing down care

For healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs), optimizing mobile workflows is a delicate balancing act between security and speed. You want to keep patient data safe, but you can’t have your clinicians spending valuable time wrestling with logins or worrying about whether a misplaced device could lead to a data breach.

At Mackenzie Health, doctors were repeatedly having to re-enter passwords just to access basic patient data. This slowed them down and increased the chances of making mistakes in a demanding environment where every second matters.

Yale New Haven Health was dealing with something different, but equally disruptive: tracking and managing thousands of mobile devices spread across multiple locations. Lost or stolen devices were costly and a security risk.

Both hospitals faced the same underlying issue: how to make mobile devices secure without making them a burden. The good news is that by implementing Imprivata mobile solutions you don’t need to compromise. They were able to solve this problem and give their staff more time to focus on what truly matters: caring for patients.

Best practices for managing mobile devices safely and effectively

The experiences of Mackenzie Health and Yale New Haven Health highlight some key strategies that any healthcare organization can use to overcome these challenges. Here’s what worked for them:

1. Centralized device management

Managing devices spread across different departments and locations is a huge task. Mackenzie Health and Yale New Haven Health both found success by using Imprivata’s centralized platform to oversee all their mobile devices.

For Yale New Haven Health, this meant better control and visibility. They knew exactly where the devices were, who was using them, and being able to act quickly if something went wrong. Centralized control also means fewer headaches for staff, who can now focus on their work rather than worrying about the technology.

2. Automated provisioning

When clinicians need access to devices they need to have a consistent experience, regardless of which device they pick up. Manual provisioning – where IT has to configure each device individually – is not only slow but can also lead to delays in care.

Both Mackenzie Health and Yale New Haven Health used automated provisioning to speed up this process. This means devices are always in the right state, every time, without any manual setup, allowing staff to get back to work quicker and with fewer disruptions.

3. Comprehensive access control

Security is crucial when you’re dealing with sensitive patient data, but it can’t come at the cost of convenience.

At Yale New Haven Health, Imprivata allowed them to lock or wipe a device remotely if it was lost or stolen.

For Mackenzie Health, eliminating the need for clinicians to manually enter passwords multiple times a day reduced frustrations while still keeping patient information secure.

This approach improves security and gives staff the confidence that they can work quickly without compromising safety.

4. Automated device configuration

Healthcare staff should be focusing on patients, not spending time setting up or troubleshooting devices. Imprivata’s automated device configuration ensures that each device is set up exactly as needed, right from the start. At Mackenzie Health, this removed the hassle of manually configuring devices, saving time and reducing errors that could otherwise compromise security.

5. Cloud-based asset tracking

With so many devices in use across a hospital, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks. Yale New Haven Health used cloud-based tools to keep tabs on their entire mobile device fleet, ensuring they always knew where devices were and whether they were active. Having visibility improves security and helps avoid unnecessary costs from replacing lost devices.

How Mackenzie Health and Yale New Haven Health solved their mobile access problems

At Mackenzie Health, the difference was immediate. Implementing Imprivata mobile solutions made it so that doctors no longer had to waste time logging into devices multiple times throughout the day. That extra time was spent where it mattered most – with patients. In addition to saving time, the hospital also saw improvements in patient safety. The solution helped ensure that clinicians were accessing the right information quickly, reducing the risk of errors and increasing patient throughput in a high-stress environment.

Yale New Haven Health’s story was about scale. Managing thousands of devices across multiple locations, they needed a solution that could manage the volume while still offering tight security controls. With the help of Imprivata, they saw a major reduction in time spent managing devices. They also estimated saving over $500,000 in annual expenses due to the avoidance of excessive device loss. Most importantly, the staff felt secure knowing they had a system in place to protect patient data, even if a device was lost.

The challenges healthcare organizations face with managing mobile workflows are real and can have serious impacts on both staff efficiency and patient safety. But as Mackenzie Health and Yale New Haven Health show, there is a clear path forward when you have a detailed plan backed by proven solutions.

With the right solutions to enable their staff, hospitals can ensure their mobile devices are secure without making life harder for the people using them. When the technology works, clinicians can spend more time doing what they do best: delivering the highest quality of patient care possible.

Want to start planning for your success like Mackenzie Health and Yale New Haven Health? Download our IT checklist on how to unlock the power of mobile for your organization.