Many healthcare organizations rely on Epic Systems as a crucial application for their daily operations. For those unfamiliar, Epic is a widely used and highly regarded EHR software that helps healthcare providers manage patient information, streamline workflows and improve overall patient care.
For the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, or UIHC, Epic serves as a mission-critical application (meaning that it plays a super vital role in their healthcare services). UIHC heavily depends on Epic to facilitate various tasks, such as patient registration, scheduling appointments, managing medical records and ordering medications. The smooth functioning of Epic is essential for UIHC to deliver efficient and high-quality healthcare services to its patients.
That said, UIHC is now adding BIO-key’s PortalGuard platform to expand its existing BIO-key biometric authentication investment as it migrates from Epic Systems’ legacy Hyperspace application to the new browser-based Hyperdrive interface.
The move is aimed at bolstering SAML single sign-on, SSO, capabilities. This integration capitalizes on UIHC's existing BIO-key biometric authentication system, eliminating the need for user re-enrollment or the adoption of complex, expensive or shared MFA solutions. The driving force behind UIHC's project timeline is Epic's requirement for customers to transition to Hyperdrive by the November 2023 release deadline.
BIO-key's PortalGuard platform fully supports Hyperdrive's contemporary authentication approach. BIO-key's PortalGuard platform is a robust solution designed to enhance authentication and security for organizations. It offers a comprehensive set of features, including SAML Identity Provider capabilities, which enable seamless integration with systems like Epic Hyperdrive.
PortalGuard supports modern authentication approaches and provides a secure and overall smoother user experience, particularly when combined with BIO-key's biometric authentication solutions. Additionally, PortalGuard offers the flexibility to extend its benefits beyond SSO to encompass other protocols like SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect, allowing organizations to leverage biometric authentication across various applications and bolster overall security.
“We all know that shared workstations are common in healthcare, yet most competitive solutions do not address them effectively, resulting in potential vulnerabilities due to token or card sharing for the sake of expediency,” said Mark Cochran, president of BIO-key – PortalGuard. “Our IBB solution balances security and convenience to deliver a cost-effective, robust authentication experience that users enjoy with the security that healthcare providers require."
This extension of security benefits encompasses various other hospital applications, further enhancing UIHC's overall security framework.
Edited by
Alex Passett
