# Best Identity Tools for Healthcare: Top 5

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-identity-tools-healthcare/
Last updated: 2026-10-16
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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Healthcare identity fails at the workstation first. If a clinician waits thirty seconds to log in between patients, they will share sessions, and every downstream control loses its audit trail. This ranking starts with clinical access and then fills the workforce, governance and privileged access jobs around it.

## How we ranked

Each pick is scored on our [10-dimension capability rubric](https://startwithidentity.com/methodology/), then weighed for care-setting fit: speed on shared workstations, HIPAA-aligned audit and least privilege, integration with a sprawling clinical application estate, and protection of EHR, imaging and infrastructure accounts. The [healthcare vertical guide](https://startwithidentity.com/verticals/healthcare/) covers requirements, and [top 5 IAM solutions for healthcare](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-5-iam-for-healthcare/) compares workforce platforms in more depth.

## Who each pick is for

[Imprivata](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/iga/imprivata/) is the clinical access specialist: badge tap-and-go SSO, shared-workstation handling and care-setting privileged access. It sold its general identity governance business to SailPoint in 2024, so treat it as a vertical access tool, not a horizontal IGA platform. Pricing is quote-based.

[Microsoft Entra ID](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/iam/microsoft-entra/) is the natural workforce backbone in Microsoft 365 health systems, with Conditional Access and mature passwordless sign-in. It does not solve shared-workstation clinical flows on its own.

[Okta](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/iam/okta/) suits health systems with a heterogeneous estate of clinical and SaaS applications, using the largest pre-built integration catalog in the category. It is SaaS only and priced per module.

[SailPoint](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/iga/sailpoint/) runs access certifications and provisioning across a role-complex clinical workforce, producing the review evidence auditors ask for. Plan for a multi-month implementation.

[CyberArk](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/pam/cyberark/) vaults and records privileged and service-account access to EHR and infrastructure systems. It is now part of Palo Alto Networks and branded Idira.

## Quick picker by scenario

- **Hospital with shared clinical workstations:** Imprivata first, then Entra ID or Okta.
- **Microsoft 365 health system:** Entra ID plus Imprivata.
- **Many acquired clinics on different apps:** Okta, with SailPoint for reviews.
- **Ransomware exposure on EHR admin accounts:** CyberArk (Idira).

## Trade-offs to plan for

Imprivata and a workforce platform overlap at the login layer, so decide which one owns SSO for each application before rollout. Every pick except Entra's bundled tiers is quote-based. Map controls with [identity controls for HIPAA](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/compliance/identity-controls-for-hipaa/), and for patient portals see [best CIAM for healthcare](https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-ciam-for-healthcare/).