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How PIAM Supports Hybrid Healthcare Models with Centralized Access Governance

  • Soloinsight Inc.
  • Aug 17, 2023
  • 5 min read

Updated: May 2


How PIAM Supports Hybrid Healthcare Models with Centralized Access Governance

Introduction: When Care Moves Beyond the Hospital Walls, Access Must Follow


The modern healthcare landscape is evolving. Traditional brick-and-mortar hospitals are now only one part of a much broader care delivery system. Today’s healthcare models span:


  • Main hospital campuses

  • Outpatient surgery centers

  • Specialty clinics

  • Urgent care walk-ins

  • Diagnostic labs

  • Administrative hubs

  • Telehealth command centers


In a hybrid model, staff, patients, and vendors move fluidly between multiple physical sites—sometimes in the same day. Yet access management practices often lag behind, relying on site-specific badge systems, siloed directories, and manual provisioning processes that no longer meet the needs of decentralized, mobile care delivery.

The result? Inconsistent access control, audit gaps, operational inefficiencies, and increased risk.


To keep pace, healthcare organizations are turning to Physical Identity and Access Management (PIAM) platforms like Soloinsight’s CloudGate PIAM. CloudGate provides a centralized access governance model that spans all facilities and roles—ensuring that healthcare security moves as quickly and flexibly as healthcare itself.


In this blog, we explore how PIAM supports hybrid healthcare models with centralized access governance, enabling security, compliance, and efficiency in distributed environments.


What Is a Hybrid Healthcare Model?


A hybrid healthcare model blends multiple care delivery settings into one ecosystem. For example:


  • A physician performs surgeries in a hospital, sees patients in an outpatient clinic, and consults via telemedicine from a satellite location.

  • A radiology tech floats between an imaging center and mobile diagnostics van.

  • An administrator works across regional offices while accessing data centers and cloud platforms.


This shift increases complexity across:


  • Physical access to buildings, zones, and equipment

  • Digital access to applications, systems, and devices

  • Credentialing, auditing, and compliance enforcement


Without centralized governance, access rights become overbroad, outdated, or misaligned with real-time roles.


The Limitations of Traditional Access Control Models


  • Facility-specific badge systems force redundant provisioning and siloed oversight.

  • Manual access updates cannot keep pace with rotating staff, mobile vendors, and shift-based roles.

  • No cross-location reporting makes auditing difficult and exposes gaps.

  • Multiple credential repositories mean slow deactivation after terminations or role changes.


In a hybrid environment, these limitations put healthcare organizations at risk of:


  • Insider threats

  • Compliance violations

  • Operational delays

  • Staff and vendor frustration


How CloudGate PIAM Enables Centralized Access Governance and Supports Hybrid Healthcare Models


Soloinsight’s CloudGate PIAM provides a unified platform to manage physical access across all sites—from hospitals to clinics to remote administrative offices—based on identity, role, location, and risk level.


1. Centralized Identity Across the Enterprise


CloudGate integrates with:


  • HRIS (e.g., Workday, Oracle)

  • Credentialing systems

  • Active Directory and cloud IAM platforms

  • Facility-specific PACS and biometric devices


Each person is managed under a central identity profile, allowing access rights to be:


  • Assigned dynamically based on role and location

  • Revoked instantly across all facilities

  • Audited consistently across the enterprise


2. Role-Based and Location-Aware Access Provisioning


In hybrid models, CloudGate provisions access that reflects:


  • Who the user is (e.g., orthopedic surgeon, IT engineer, mobile phlebotomist)

  • Where they are working that day

  • What zones they need to access (e.g., OR, lab, cleanroom, admin area)


For example:


  • A nurse rotating between Clinic A and Hospital B gets different access templates for each location.

  • A finance manager retains access to office and secure storage but is blocked from clinical areas.


This eliminates over-permissioning and improves zone-specific policy enforcement.


3. Smart Badge and Biometric Synchronization


Staff and vendors carry a single credential (badge, mobile pass, or biometric ID) that works across:


  • Multiple campuses

  • Offsite buildings

  • Partner facilities


CloudGate updates permissions in real time based on shift schedules, assignments, or location rules—no need to issue multiple badges or manual overrides.


4. Vendor and Contractor Governance Across Sites


Third-party contractors (e.g., med device reps, IT support, janitorial vendors) are managed with:


  • Pre-registration and identity verification

  • Time-limited, location-restricted access credentials

  • Auto-expiry and audit logs linked to each site


No matter where they go, CloudGate enforces consistent access rules—supporting HIPAA and Joint Commission vendor access requirements.


5. Real-Time Monitoring and Access Intelligence


PIAM delivers centralized dashboards for:


  • Who is on-site at each facility

  • What zones are occupied or restricted

  • Which users are out of compliance (e.g., expired credentials)


Administrators and security teams can:


  • Track movement across facilities

  • Detect unusual patterns (e.g., same badge used at two sites simultaneously)

  • Block unauthorized access immediately


6. Enterprise-Wide Compliance and Audit Readiness


Whether your system spans 3 buildings or 300, CloudGate PIAM helps you:


  • Demonstrate consistent access policy enforcement across all sites

  • Produce unified access logs and reports

  • Streamline Joint Commission, CMS, OSHA, and internal audits


Reports can be filtered by:


  • Location

  • Department

  • Credential status

  • Risk zone (e.g., pharmacy, server room, psychiatric unit)


Use Cases: Hybrid Healthcare Security with CloudGate PIAM


1. Cross-Facility Physician


  • Performs surgeries at main hospital and sees patients at satellite clinic.

  • Receives biometric and badge access provisioned by location and schedule.

  • Badge access expires at end of clinical assignments; retains access to admin areas for documentation.


2. Regional Lab Courier


  • Transports specimens from urgent care clinics to centralized lab.

  • Access restricted to loading bays, lab delivery zones, and cleanrooms.

  • Credentials expire daily and log all facility entries.


3. Telehealth Admin Operating from Remote Hub


  • Access to video command center, IT helpdesk, and secure data storage.

  • Blocked from clinical zones in co-located facilities.

  • Real-time monitoring ensures digital access matches physical location.


Business Benefits of Centralized Access Governance for Hybrid Models


1. Stronger Security


  • Reduces access sprawl, insider threats, and forgotten credentials.


2. Better User Experience


  • Staff and vendors get seamless, role-based access across locations.

  • Fewer helpdesk tickets, badge issues, or access delays.


3. Audit Simplicity


  • Unified access records make compliance reporting easy and defensible.


Healthcare networks using CloudGate PIAM report:


  • 70% fewer access-related audit findings

  • 50% faster onboarding across new locations

  • Improved operational efficiency for mobile and rotating staff


Case Study: Hybrid Access Governance in a 20-Facility System


Challenge:


  • Siloed badge systems across urgent care, hospital campuses, and outpatient sites.

  • No visibility into contractor movement or cross-location access.

  • Frequent Joint Commission findings tied to physical security inconsistencies.


After CloudGate PIAM:


  • Unified access profiles across all sites.

  • Vendor access scoped and logged by project and location.

  • Single dashboard provided full visibility to security and compliance teams.


Results:


  • Cleared Joint Commission survey across all 20 facilities.

  • Reduced cross-site badge issuance by 80%.

  • Higher staff satisfaction and improved physical security KPIs.


The Future: Predictive, Adaptive Access for Mobile Healthcare


CloudGate is advancing toward:


  • AI-based provisioning based on staffing trends and facility load

  • Geolocation triggers for automatic access enablement

  • Predictive compliance scoring to preempt audit risks


In hybrid healthcare, access governance will become smart, adaptive, and fully enterprise-aware.


Conclusion: Hybrid Healthcare Requires Unified Security


When care delivery moves beyond one building, access governance must move beyond one system. Soloinsight’s CloudGate PIAM empowers healthcare organizations to:


  • Centralize access control across diverse facilities

  • Deliver seamless, policy-aligned access to mobile staff and contractors

  • Strengthen compliance and operational agility in every care setting


If your healthcare network is scaling across locations, specialties, or service lines, contact Soloinsight today for a CloudGate PIAM demo.




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