Healthcare cybersecurity · Identity & access
Imprivata
Imprivata is a clinical identity and access product for hospitals. It speeds shared-workstation login with badge tap and EHR single sign-on while keeping MFA workable on the floor. Clinics with a handful of dedicated workstations rarely need this class of product.
Strong fit
- Hospitals fighting shared-workstation login drag without weakening MFA
- Security teams aligning badge and SSO with EHR and clinical apps
- Organizations measuring time-to-chart after shift change
Weak fit
- Clinics with a handful of dedicated workstations and simple MFA
- Buyers seeking IoMT device discovery rather than identity
- IT shops standardized on a non-healthcare IAM suite with no clinical UX pain
Bottom line
Imprivata earns a Recommend where clinical identity friction is the security problem — shared workstations, badge tap, and EHR SSO done without breaking care. Outcomes show up as login seconds and fewer password resets; product depth is healthcare-specific in a way generic IAM often isn't. Implementation touches every clinical floor. Pricing is enterprise and module-heavy.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Imprivata earns a Recommend where clinical identity friction is the security problem — shared workstations, badge tap, and EHR SSO done without breaking care. Outcomes show up as login seconds and fewer password resets; product depth is healthcare-specific in a way generic IAM often isn't. Implementation touches every clinical floor. Pricing is enterprise and module-heavy.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Imprivata | 7.8 | 7.4 |
| Cynerio | 7.3 | 7.0 |
| Okta (healthcare) | — | — |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Per-user or per-workstation enterprise licensing, with module add-ons for MFA and privileged access. |
| What usually drives cost | Module mix and professional services for EHR connector work. |
| What to ask in diligence | A business case that includes help-desk savings and login-time ROI, plus services cost for connectors. |
| Published pricing | Public list price: not published. Expect a custom quote; confirm total cost at your volume. |
Prerequisites for purchase
| Need | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What you need to get Imprivata to function | |
| Shared clinical workstations or badge-heavy EHR workflows | Identity products pay off where login drag is a daily clinical problem. |
| Security and clinical informatics co-ownership | IAM projects fail when security designs them without floor input. |
| EHR and clinical-app connector plan | Badge tap without SSO into the chart is only half the job. |
| MFA and privileged-access policies you are willing to enforce | Module licenses without policy decisions become shelfware. |
| Help-desk readiness for badge, PIN, and exception handling | Go-live spikes password tickets if support is unprepared. |
| What will maximize your value | |
| Time-to-chart and password-reset metrics by unit | Login seconds and ticket volume are the ROI language that sticks. |
| Floor champions for badge tap and shared-workstation etiquette | Workarounds reappear when units invent local exceptions. |
| Phased rollout by clinical area, not enterprise big-bang | ED and inpatient patterns differ; prove one pattern first. |
| Privileged access scoped to vendors and admins with expiry | Standing admin rights recreate the risk you bought Imprivata to reduce. |
| Business case that includes help-desk savings and clinical time | Security-only framing underfunds connectors and training. |
| Deal-breakers | |
| You only have a handful of dedicated workstations and simple MFA already works. | |
| You mainly need IoMT device discovery rather than clinical identity. | |
| IT is standardized on a non-healthcare IAM suite with no clinical UX pain case. | |
| Security will not partner with clinical informatics on workflow design. | |
| No budget or owner for EHR connector professional services. | |
Value creation time frame
| # | Stage | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contract signed → kickoff | 3–7 weeks (security architecture, EHR connector scoping, badge inventory) |
| 2 | Kickoff → first live workflow | 10–20 weeks for badge/SSO on a first clinical area |
| 3 | First live workflow → steady value | 4–8 months of unit-by-unit expansion and habit stabilization |
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category actually buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.