Just 7% of Organizations Have Fully Adopted Passwordless Authentication
Imprivata, a leading provider of access management solutions for healthcare and other mission-critical industries, today released the findings from a new survey about the state of passwordless authentication and advanced access capabilities in U.S. healthcare. According to the research, 85% of healthcare IT leaders view passwordless authentication as very important or mission-critical to the future of healthcare, citing its potential to strengthen cybersecurity, reduce clinician frustration, and streamline access to applications and resources. However, only 7% of organizations have fully implemented passwordless access for clinical and non-clinical staff, underscoring a significant adoption gap.
The report, “The State of Passwordless Authentication in Healthcare: Ending Password Pain”, captures insights from more than 200 IT and security leaders at healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs). It highlights strong momentum toward identity-centric access strategies, despite the challenges that continue to slow adoption.
While most respondents recognize the value of advanced access, 60% of HDOs still rely heavily on passwords. This reliance creates operational and clinical challenges, including:
- Risky password workarounds (46%)
- Increased risk of security incidents or breaches (42%)
- Delays in patient care (41%)
- Higher IT and help desk workload (40%)
“Healthcare organizations recognize that password-heavy environments are no longer sustainable. Clinicians need fast, intuitive workflows, and security teams need stronger protection against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. This survey shows that moving beyond passwords is now both a strategic necessity and a foundational step toward a more cyber-resilient and operationally efficient healthcare system.”
— Chip Hughes, Chief Product Officer at Imprivata
Password Pain Is a Strategic Imperative to Solve
Respondents overwhelmingly agree that traditional passwords are no longer viable for the speed, complexity, and security demands of modern healthcare environments. In fact, 63% consider passwordless authentication very important, and 22% deem it mission-critical to the future of healthcare security and efficiency.
In addition to passwordless authentication, respondents identified several advanced access capabilities as critical to their security strategies:
- Continuous session monitoring (81%)
- Risk-based authentication (74%)
- Offline multifactor authentication (73%)
- Self-service password reset and unlock (71%)
Organizations believe that advanced access and passwordless authentication will reduce friction and security risks associated with traditional login methods, while delivering:
- Stronger identity security and phishing resistance (53%)
- Faster logins (49%)
- Improved user experience (47%)
- Reduced help desk tickets (40%)
“Healthcare leaders understand that password-heavy workflows are slowing clinicians down and introducing unnecessary risk. This report underscores what the industry needs next: access solutions that remove friction, protect patients, and modernize authentication for a passwordless future.”
— Dr. Sean Kelly, Chief Medical Officer at Imprivata
Methodology
The survey involved 206 respondents from healthcare delivery organizations across the United States. Participants included CIOs, CISOs, IT directors, security architects, clinical informatics leaders, and other senior stakeholders. The respondents represented small, mid-sized, and large hospital systems, integrated delivery networks (IDNs), and academic medical centers.