04-10-2025, 12:56 AM
At Praia Health, we believe that the foundation of a secure, seamless, and trustworthy digital healthcare experience begins with solving the identity problem — especially the one most health systems don’t realize they have.
Health systems often assume that identity is already solved through the EMR and the marketing systems they use. Therein lies the problem, as multiple identity tools create a fragmented, disconnected view of the consumer. The reality is: there is not one true consumer identity in place.
So what is consumer identity, and why should health systems care?
The Hidden Identity Problem
Today, a consumer might have three different identities within a health system:
These disconnected systems create a fragmented view of the consumer, while adding friction for the consumer. Health systems can’t unify engagement, recommendations, or access without a common, secure identity.
A health system-specific Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) tool changes that. It allows health systems to unify these views into a single, secure, authenticated identity — unlocking a more personalized, effective, and secure digital health experience.
The Right Person vs. The Probably Right Person
Many marketing platforms rely on probabilistic identity built on transient data — cookies, behaviors, lookalike models, etc. These profiles attempt to predict what a consumer might want or what care they may need, but they don't actually know who the person is.
A CIAM solution, on the other hand, builds a deterministic profile based on verified identity — such as a phone number, email, or government-issued ID. This creates a stable, authenticated identity that persists across interactions and while providing access to the EMR/patient portal.
This difference is especially critical in healthcare. When the stakes involve clinical outcomes, accuracy matters. A known identity ensures recommendations, care journeys, and communications are tied to the right person, not just the probably right one.
What a Consumer Identity Tool Is and Isn’t
Many health systems also face a master patient index (MPI) or enterprise master patient identity index (EMPI) patient identity problem. But EMPI tools focus on deduplication across clinical records, not on how consumers access their digital identity or clinical records. They don't enable modern sign-up flows, single sign-on, consent management, or secure access across digital tools.
CIAM complements and supersedes the EMPI in the EMR — it doesn’t replace it, and it isn’t redundant. While the EMPI governs clinical data accuracy inside the EMR, CIAM governs how a person is identified and authenticated before they ever touch the EMR. It's the bridge that unites digital engagement with clinical care.
Why Modern Identity Verification Standards Matter
Legacy systems often rely on Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) — like answering which mortgage company you used in 2012. But that information is increasingly easy to spoof. The modern, more secure approach is Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2), which verifies users against trusted documents like a driver’s license or passport.
Vendors like Clear and ID.me are leading the way in bringing these standards to consumer-facing identity verification. Health systems that adopt these standards can eliminate fraudulent account creation, prevent identity mismatches, and build trusted consumer relationships from day one.
The Struggle with EMR-Based Identity
EMRs were never built to serve as a digital consumer identity platform. Their patient portals are often difficult to self-enroll in (if available at all), poor at handling password resets, and siloed from marketing or digital data sources.
Even worse, they often lack support for modern standards like OpenID Connect, multi-factor authentication, or federation with other systems.
This means a health system may have a patient with an EMR ID, a marketing profile, and a mobile app ID — none of which talk to each other. As a result, the system:
What Health Systems Gain from a True Consumer ID
The core reasons for implementing CIAM are grounded in security, a consistent user experience, and future-proofing the digital foundation of a health system.
With better security protocols, such as multi-factor authentication and standardized identity frameworks like OAuth and OpenID Connect, CIAM dramatically reduces vulnerabilities, helping to prevent credential stuffing, phishing, and unauthorized access.
A strong consumer identity platform also ensures consistency across digital experiences. Single Sign-On (SSO) gives consumers seamless access to multiple services without repeated logins, eliminating frustration and enabling personalized, connected experiences across touch points. This in turn drives further patient transactions, driving loyalty and affiliation with the health system.
CIAM also allows health systems to stay flexible as they add new tools and services as strategic priorities shift. Consumers maintain a single secure identity regardless of vendor changes, helping organizations avoid vendor lock-in and ensuring smoother digital transitions.
Ultimately, verified consumer identity makes it possible to:
Conclusion
The identity problem in healthcare is not just a technical challenge — it’s a strategic blind spot. Health systems need to stop thinking of identity as an EMR checkbox or a marketing dataset. It’s time to think of identity as the front door to every digital interaction.
CIAM isn’t just about access — it’s about building trust, reducing friction, and enabling growth. And it starts with recognizing that today’s health system identity stack is broken.
Let’s fix it together.
www.praiahealth.com
Health systems often assume that identity is already solved through the EMR and the marketing systems they use. Therein lies the problem, as multiple identity tools create a fragmented, disconnected view of the consumer. The reality is: there is not one true consumer identity in place.
So what is consumer identity, and why should health systems care?
The Hidden Identity Problem
Today, a consumer might have three different identities within a health system:
- One in the EMR, managed by legacy identity tools
- One in the marketing CRM or CDP, built on propensity and cookies
- One (and often many more) scattered across digital front doors, virtual care solutions, and third-party offerings
These disconnected systems create a fragmented view of the consumer, while adding friction for the consumer. Health systems can’t unify engagement, recommendations, or access without a common, secure identity.
A health system-specific Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) tool changes that. It allows health systems to unify these views into a single, secure, authenticated identity — unlocking a more personalized, effective, and secure digital health experience.
The Right Person vs. The Probably Right Person
Many marketing platforms rely on probabilistic identity built on transient data — cookies, behaviors, lookalike models, etc. These profiles attempt to predict what a consumer might want or what care they may need, but they don't actually know who the person is.
A CIAM solution, on the other hand, builds a deterministic profile based on verified identity — such as a phone number, email, or government-issued ID. This creates a stable, authenticated identity that persists across interactions and while providing access to the EMR/patient portal.
This difference is especially critical in healthcare. When the stakes involve clinical outcomes, accuracy matters. A known identity ensures recommendations, care journeys, and communications are tied to the right person, not just the probably right one.
What a Consumer Identity Tool Is and Isn’t
Many health systems also face a master patient index (MPI) or enterprise master patient identity index (EMPI) patient identity problem. But EMPI tools focus on deduplication across clinical records, not on how consumers access their digital identity or clinical records. They don't enable modern sign-up flows, single sign-on, consent management, or secure access across digital tools.
CIAM complements and supersedes the EMPI in the EMR — it doesn’t replace it, and it isn’t redundant. While the EMPI governs clinical data accuracy inside the EMR, CIAM governs how a person is identified and authenticated before they ever touch the EMR. It's the bridge that unites digital engagement with clinical care.
Why Modern Identity Verification Standards Matter
Legacy systems often rely on Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA) — like answering which mortgage company you used in 2012. But that information is increasingly easy to spoof. The modern, more secure approach is Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2), which verifies users against trusted documents like a driver’s license or passport.
Vendors like Clear and ID.me are leading the way in bringing these standards to consumer-facing identity verification. Health systems that adopt these standards can eliminate fraudulent account creation, prevent identity mismatches, and build trusted consumer relationships from day one.
The Struggle with EMR-Based Identity
EMRs were never built to serve as a digital consumer identity platform. Their patient portals are often difficult to self-enroll in (if available at all), poor at handling password resets, and siloed from marketing or digital data sources.
Even worse, they often lack support for modern standards like OpenID Connect, multi-factor authentication, or federation with other systems.
This means a health system may have a patient with an EMR ID, a marketing profile, and a mobile app ID — none of which talk to each other. As a result, the system:
- Wastes marketing dollars targeting anonymous users they already know clinically
- Misses opportunities for clinical follow-up from digital interactions
- Frustrates patients with disconnected experiences
What Health Systems Gain from a True Consumer ID
The core reasons for implementing CIAM are grounded in security, a consistent user experience, and future-proofing the digital foundation of a health system.
With better security protocols, such as multi-factor authentication and standardized identity frameworks like OAuth and OpenID Connect, CIAM dramatically reduces vulnerabilities, helping to prevent credential stuffing, phishing, and unauthorized access.
A strong consumer identity platform also ensures consistency across digital experiences. Single Sign-On (SSO) gives consumers seamless access to multiple services without repeated logins, eliminating frustration and enabling personalized, connected experiences across touch points. This in turn drives further patient transactions, driving loyalty and affiliation with the health system.
CIAM also allows health systems to stay flexible as they add new tools and services as strategic priorities shift. Consumers maintain a single secure identity regardless of vendor changes, helping organizations avoid vendor lock-in and ensuring smoother digital transitions.
Ultimately, verified consumer identity makes it possible to:
- Unify marketing and clinical engagement around a single source of truth
- Reduce the inefficiencies and friction caused by disjointed identity systems
- Build loyalty by delivering digital experiences that reflect modern consumer expectations
Conclusion
The identity problem in healthcare is not just a technical challenge — it’s a strategic blind spot. Health systems need to stop thinking of identity as an EMR checkbox or a marketing dataset. It’s time to think of identity as the front door to every digital interaction.
CIAM isn’t just about access — it’s about building trust, reducing friction, and enabling growth. And it starts with recognizing that today’s health system identity stack is broken.
Let’s fix it together.
www.praiahealth.com