COVID-19 surge readiness: use cases demonstrating how hospitals leveraged digital identity access management for infection control and pandemic response

BACKGROUND: Surging volumes of patients with COVID-19 and the high infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2 challenged hospital infection control/safety, staffing, care delivery and operations as few crises have. Imperatives to ensure security of patient information, defend against cybersecurity threats and accurately identify/authenticate patients and staff were undiminished, which fostered creative use cases where hospitals leveraged identity access and management (IAM) technologies to improve infection control and minimise disruption of clinical and administrative workflows. METHODS: Working with a leading IAM solution provider, implementation personnel in the USA and UK identified all hospitals/health systems where an innovative use of IAM technology improved facility infection control and pandemic response management. Interviews/communications with hospital clinical informatics leaders collected information describing the use case deployed. RESULTS: Eight innovative/valuable hospital use cases are described: symptom-free attestation by clinicians at shift start; detection of clinician exposure/contact tracing; reporting of clinician temperature checks; inpatient telehealth consults in isolation units; virtual visits between isolated patients and families; touchless single sign-on authentication; secure access enabled for rapid expansion of personnel working remotely; and monitoring of temporary worker attendance. DISCUSSION: No systematic, comprehensive survey of all implemented IAM client sites was conducted, and other use cases may be undetected. A standardised reporting/information sharing vehicle is needed whereby IAM use cases aiding facility pandemic response and infection control can be disseminated. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical care, infection control and facility operations were improved using IAM solutions during COVID-19. Facility end-user innovation in how IAM solutions are deployed can improve infection control/patient safety, care delivery and clinical workflows during surges of epidemic infectious diseases.