NHS Trust deploys SSO and reduces helpdesk load
Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust has deployed a single sign-on solution from Evidian to simplify access to key hospital applications, enabling 2500 staff to better focus on the delivery of essential frontline healthcare services and reducing burden on IT support.
With 1,700 clinicians at the Trust requiring access to up to 14 different healthcare applications on a day-to-day basis to carry out key services, the Enterprise SSO solution from leader in identity and access management Evidian enables clinicians to use all web-based services with a single user log-in and password.
Enabling clinicians to focus on patient care
Winchester and Eastleigh provides a complex range of care for around 240,000 people living in mid-Hampshire. Recognising that having to remember multiple passwords was placing a burden on staff and IT, the Trust deployed the solution across its two main hospital sites, to improve working practices for managers, clinicians and administrative staff.
Tunde Ishola, Head of IM&T at Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust said: “Previously, staff had to remember up to 15 unique sets of log-in details for the healthcare applications they were using. This not only placed a burden on the Trust’s IT support, but also wasted valuable clinician time.
“By simplifying access to essential applications within the Care Records System, including X-ray, radiology, pathology blood requisition and JAC prescription applications, staff need only to log-in once to carry out essential daily activities, freeing up their time and resources to focus on patient care.”
Reduced helpdesk load
An additional benefit of the Evidian solution is its self-service password reset, which enables staff to resolve the issue of lost or forgotten details themselves by going through a series of security questions, further reducing the burden on IT support staff.
There has already been a significant reduction in calls received by IT. Around 15% of all IT support calls logged were password related, but with this issue largely eliminated the Trust has been able to reduce first-line IT support by 20%, enabling resources to be deployed more effectively elsewhere. The number of abandoned calls has also been reduced as a direct result, helping IT to meet targets set on call response rates.
The Trust now plans to further extend the solution for all community based staff, and to support home workers and management staff working remotely from mobile devices.
Comprehensive, easily configured solution
The Trust considered three technology solutions, but opted for Evidian, as it was the most cost-effective, meeting immediate needs and scalable for future requirements. It works on the Trust’s existing Active Directory, requires no additional box to install or configure and it is easy to deploy and manage, which were key considerations.
Evidian’s solutions secure access to all types of corporate application – whether Windows, Citrix, Linux, Unix, web-based or mainframe. They combine multi-factor authentication with a plug-and-play SSO solution, replacing user passwords with digital signatures based on certificates, smart cards, USB keys or biometrics. Access is authorised according to existing security policies and enterprise directories.
Evidian Enterprise SSO is available for Windows XP, 2000, 2003 and Vista. For thin clients, Evidian Enterprise SSO is also available in the Windows Terminal Server and Citrix (MetaFrame, Presentation Server and NFuse) environments.
More information: see our NHS resource center>>
Posted to News by Laurent de Jerphanion at 14:58
