WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 other resources. However, only 7% of organizations have fully implemented passwordless access for clinical and non-clinical staff, underscoring a sizable gap in adoption and hindering progress toward achieving these security and operational gains.
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 reveals strong momentum toward identity-centric access strategies, despite significant challenges that continue to hinder progress.
While most respondents recognize the value of advanced access, 60% of HDOs still rely heavily on passwords, resulting in significant operational and clinical impacts, including risky password workarounds (according to 46% of respondents), increased risk of security incidents or breaches (42%), delays in patient care (41%) and increased IT/help desk workload (40%).
“Healthcare organizations recognize that password-heavy environments are no longer sustainable,” said Chip Hughes, Chief Product Officer at Imprivata. “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.”
Password Pain Is a Strategic Imperative to Solve
Respondents overwhelmingly acknowledge that traditional passwords are no longer viable for the speed, complexity, and security demands of modern healthcare environments – 63% consider passwordless authentication very important and 22% deem it to be mission-critical to the future of healthcare security and efficiency.
In addition to passwordless authentication, respondents identified additional advanced access capabilities that they view as most valuable to their organization’s security strategy, including continuous session monitoring (81% of respondents), risk-based authentication (74%), offline multifactor authentication (73%), and self-service password reset/unlock (71%).
The benefits of more advanced access and passwordless authentication focus on reducing the friction and security risk created by traditional login methods, while receiving workflow efficiency, risk mitigation, and IT operational benefits. The most important outcomes organizations hope to achieve include stronger identity security and phishing resistance (as cited by 53% of respondents), faster logins (49%), improved user experience (47%), and reduced help desk tickets (40%).
Despite the recognized benefits of more advanced access, only 7% of organizations have fully implemented passwordless authentication for their clinical and other staff members. The biggest barriers to widespread adoption include integration and technical challenges (according to 57% of respondents), concerns about clinical acceptance and training (52%) and regulatory or compliance requirements (51%). However, looking ahead, 23% of HDOs expect to fully adopt passwordless authentication within two years, more than triple today’s rate.
“Healthcare leaders understand that password-heavy workflows are slowing clinicians down and introducing unnecessary risk,” said Dr. Sean Kelly, Chief Medical Officer at Imprivata. “This report underscores what the industry needs next: access solutions that remove friction, protect patients, and modernize authentication for a passwordless future.”
Methodology
The survey involved 206 respondents from healthcare delivery organizations across the United States. Respondents included CIOs, CISOs, IT directors, security architects, clinical informatics leaders, and other senior stakeholders. Respondents represented organizations that include small, mid-sized, and large hospital systems, IDNs, and academic medical centers.
About Imprivata
Imprivata delivers simple and secure access management solutions for healthcare and other mission-critical industries to ensure every second of crucial work is both frictionless and secure. Imprivata’s platform of innovative, interoperable access management and privileged access security solutions enable organizations to fully manage and secure all enterprise and third-party identities to facilitate seamless user access, protect against internal and external security threats, and reduce total cost of ownership. For more information, visit www.imprivata.com.
Media Contact
press@imprivata.com
