In healthcare, where every second and every record matters, traditional passwords are becoming a liability. Cyberattacks are growing, clinicians are juggling multiple systems, and patient trust is at stake. That’s why hospitals are now exploring passwordless authentication—moving beyond the outdated system of usernames and passwords to embrace faster, safer, and more efficient methods like passkeys, biometrics, and smart cards. 

Read: Healthcare Data Breaches in 2024 – The Review Hive

 3 Cybersecurity Facts Hospitals Can’t Ignore

• Cybercriminals Aren’t Slowing Down
  Hospitals and healthcare providers continue to be targeted. Even smaller attacks can disrupt operations and reveal security gaps that affect patient care.
  
• Security Controls Need Constant Attention
  Hospitals must regularly assess their systems, test defenses, and fix vulnerabilities to stay ahead of attackers.
  
• Incident Response Plans Are Non-Negotiable
  With attacks becoming inevitable, every hospital needs a detailed, tested response plan to minimize downtime and regain trust quickly.
  

 5 Challenges Driving the Move to Passkeys in Healthcare

• Shared-Device Environment
  In hospitals, a number of doctors, nurses, and technicians often share the same computer or tablet during a shift. This shared-device environment creates friction when trying to implement traditional passwordless methods.
  
• Limitations of Traditional Methods
  Traditional passwordless methods like biometrics or device-specific passkeys are not easy to implement in settings where multiple users access the same device. These methods are typically designed for individual use, not team-based workflows.
  
• Complex Clinical Routines
  These challenges—coupled with the demands of day-to-day clinical workflows involving doctors, nurses, and technicians—add another layer of difficulty to authentication. The access needs to be seamless, secure, and fast-paced, which not all systems can deliver.
  
• Outdated Infrastructure
  A large number of healthcare organizations rely on outdated software that doesn’t support new security tools like passkeys. This limits their ability to go fully passwordless without broader IT upgrades.
  
• The Need for a Gradual Transition
  Because of these overlapping obstacles, the transition to passwordless authentication isn’t immediate. It requires a phased, strategic approach—and that’s why hospitals are embracing passkeys as a pivotal step in the journey.
  

3 Benefits of Using Passkeys in Healthcare Industry

• Safeguards Sensitive Data
  Passwordless techniques like passkeys, biometrics, or smart cards come with superior security in comparison to traditional passwords. They are specifically designed to reduce the threats of reuse, guessing, and theft. This transition helps the hospital ensure that patient information, such as medical records, medications, and personal identifiers is kept in strict confidence.
  
• Contributes to Operational Efficiency
  Clinicians often lose valuable time and experience challenges while gaining access to multiple systems with difficult passwords. Passwordless authentication puts this problem to rest and accelerates access to electronic health records (EHRs), imaging systems, and other tools—thereby saving their productive time and avoiding repetitive logins.
  
• Enhances User Experience
  Hassle-free logins benefit both clinicians and patients by reducing delays, minimizing disruptions, and enabling more dedicated time for patient care. They also prevent clinicians from resorting to unsafe shortcuts like sharing credentials, storing passwords on sticky notes, or using shared accounts that compromise security.
  

 Passwordless Adoption: The Growing Momentum

• By the end of 2025, 68% of healthcare organizations plan to adopt passwordless solutions.
  
• The U.S. healthcare market for passwordless tech is projected to hit $82.5 billion by 2034.
  
• A pilot program conducted by a US hospital system revealed a strong inclination towards passkeys solutions for their ability to enhance security and convenience.
  
• Half of US enterprises have switched over to some form of password authentication.
  
• 81% of security issues are borne out of breached credentials.
  

3 Steps to a Smooth Shift to Passkeys in Hospitals

• Foundational Actions
  Assess your hospital’s infrastructure, including current IT systems, applications, devices, and user workflows to understand what applications and devices are in place now and whether certain systems need to be upgraded or replaced to support passwordless mechanisms like biometrics or passkeys.
  
• Determine Relevant Methods
  Consider methods like facial recognition, fingerprint authentication, security keys, or mobile alerts. This step involves determining which methods are more relevant to your hospital’s needs, patients’ expectations, and security standards.
  
• Get Expert Guidance
  Taking the opinion of a reliable technology expert who has experience in identity and access management can help your hospital overcome technical hurdles, maintain regulatory standards, and recommend a solution that fits smoothly with your existing systems.
  

 How Cyberattacks Damage Hospitals Long-Term

• Lasting Financial, Operational, and Reputational Setbacks
  Even after short-term disruptions triggered by cyberattacks have long been sorted out, hospitals may continue to face financial, operational, and reputational setbacks for a long time to come.
  
• Prolonged Revenue Loss from Billing Disruptions
  The financial repercussions resulting from revenue loss and disrupted billing backlogs may persist for an extended period, lasting several quarters.
  
• Damaged Reputation and Patient Trust
  The loss of patient data can dent a hospital’s reputation, as patients may begin to doubt its reliability in protecting their information and turn to competitors. If that happens, it could deal a major blow to the hospital’s finances.
  
• Strained Budgets and Recovery Costs
  The financial burden of these unforeseen expenses can drain resources and force hospitals to limit funding for patient care. In the aftermath of a data breach, hospitals may need to invest heavily in data restoration, system recovery, and security upgrades to rebuild their infrastructure and prevent future cyberattacks.
  

To Sum UP

CVS Health is a classic example of a healthcare organization that has openly embraced passkeys. Mayo Clinic and Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest are also making meaningful progress in adopting modern, passwordless authentication methods.

With cyberattacks on the rise each day and the average healthcare data breach costing over $4 million, traditional passwords are no longer the best bet. Passkeys and other passwordless technologies offer a chance to fortify security and enhance both patient and clinician experiences and set up a future-proof approach to identity management.

This isn’t merely a matter of convenient log-in access. Nor is it confined to swapping passwords for biometrics or passkeys. It’s about adopting a mindset that prioritizes safeguarding the entire healthcare system, where protecting patient data and healthcare systems are paramount.

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