Introduction
The Papa Giovanni XXIII Local Health Authority (ASST) in Bergamo (formerly Ospedali Riuniti) was established in 2015. It oversees the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, the San Giovanni Bianco Hospital and a whole network of facilities that provide healthcare services in the area, such as the mental health services network, the districts of Bergamo, Valle Brembana, Valle Imagna and Villa D’Almè, the family counselling network, prison healthcare and a centre for children and families. Overall, the ASST manages approximately 4,500 employees (doctors and healthcare managers, technical and administrative managers, departmental staff), who carry out their activities in an organisation comprising 190 departments and facilities.
Challenges and reasons for implementing a secure access solution
Healthcare facilities handle extremely sensitive information on a daily basis – from patient clinical data to staff credentials – which must be protected with the highest security standards, in accordance with the GDPR, the European Data Protection Regulation, and national regulations on digital healthcare.
Ensuring secure and controlled access to work terminals by healthcare and administrative staff is key to protecting this data, guaranteeing operational continuity, traceability of activities, privacy protection and quality of care.
What was the company’s need?
Working in shifts, healthcare staff are required to constantly change their passwords for security reasons. In addition, many operators work on shared workstations, meaning that multiple users need to access the same PC, each with their own workspace. The ASST “Papa Giovanni XXIII” needed a solution to resolve the issues associated with frequent password changes and secure access to workstations.
Why Namirial
Namirial solved the critical issues raised by ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII with SafeAccess, a suite that enables passwordless authentication for secure access to workstations, resources and company areas. This is achieved through a two-factor authentication system, which replaces the traditional login method based on the use of a username and password.
The use of a second factor of recognition – which, depending on the specific needs of the company or individual employee, can be a smart card, token, app or smartphone – is the definitive solution to password risks.
Specifically, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII employees already had an ID badge issued by the Lombardy region. With Namirial SafeAccess, healthcare workers can now use these badges not only to enter the car park and canteen, but also to access all workstations and more than 50 applications in use in the facility in a passwordless and secure manner. All this without having to make any changes to the applications themselves. Each access is always carried out with maximum security and in full compliance with privacy and the rules imposed by the European GDPR Regulation.
Namirial SafeAccess has eliminated the costs associated with password management and provided a solution in the event of unforeseen circumstances: for example, if employees lose their badge, they can go to a workstation to issue a temporary badge that allows them to continue working in the hospital.
