NHS trusts face a number of challenges in giving clinicians access to the data they need to do their jobs. Information is often held in multiple systems, from where it can be hard to pull together. And, of course, it needs to be held securely; but if security becomes too intrusive staff can find ways to work around it.

Single sign-on combined with context management can address these challenges. This special report looks at how the two together can give staff access to all the applications they are authorised to access, improving workflow and giving trusts an audit trail of who has done what, when.

David Ting, founder and chief technology officer of Imprivata, argues that: "For a trust, implementing a context management system should go hand-in-hand with its identity management strategy. Together, they can help trusts meet the golden rule of security: keep the data safe, while ensuring that clinicians are productive and comfortable with their IT systems."

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust implemented this kind of solution when password management became a real issue for the IT team, reducing pressure on the helpdesk while creating a more flexible and efficient way for clinicians to access applications.