Gartner 2023 Case Study: Seattle Children’s Improves Quality Of Life, Reduces Burnout With Access Management

By Addy Agee

Seattle Children’s Hospital has taken steps to improve the quality of life for their clinicians and reduce burnout by implementing identity and access management (IAM) solutions. Dr. Zafar Chaudry, the Senior VP and Chief Digital and Information Officer at Seattle Children’s Hospital, noticed that access and authentication were problematic for clinicians, so he introduced passwordless single sign-on and multifactor authentication to speed up the login process. 

Seattle Children’s objective was to reduce clinician burnout by improving access to technology. This included enabling, fast, secure access to their EHR, reducing login time and improving their clinician’s quality of life. Implementing an Identity and Access Management (IAM) program has been essential in automating the process of granting access to patient data based on an employee’s role and permissions. This has eliminated the need for staff to manually authenticate each time they need access to patient data, saving valuable minutes throughout the day, and increasing staff workflow. Seattle Children’s Hospital has gone one step further and implemented badge scanning, which has reduced login times from 75 seconds down to 22 seconds, allowing staff to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks. This project has allowed clinicians to have an improved quality of life by having more time at home, reducing the risk of burnout.

Seattle Children’s Hospital’s implementation of access management solutions has resulted in improved quality of life for their clinicians and increased patient safety. This also helps reduce the risk of human error, which can occur when staff members forget to log out of a system, potentially compromising patient data.  IAM solutions are an essential component of healthcare technology, and healthcare organizations that prioritize the implementation of IAM solutions will reap the benefits of increased staff efficiency, improved patient safety, and ultimately better patient care.  

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, implementing IAM solutions will become increasingly important in ensuring that healthcare professionals can access the patient data they need quickly and securely. Passwordless sign-on and multifactor authentication can have a positive impact on work life balance of healthcare professionals. As shows at Seattle Children’s, the implementation of an IAM program and badge scanning can significantly reduce login times and allow staff to spend more time focusing on patient care, which ultimately benefits both clinicians and patients. 

It’s encouraging to see healthcare organizations recognizing the importance of implementing IAM solutions and prioritizing the well-being of their employees. If you have any questions about MFA, SSO, or how an IAM strategy can benefit your facility, reach out to the experts at Idenhaus.

Thank you to Gartner and Dr. Chaudry for this insightful session!