Healthcare organizations face a catch-22 when it comes to data access: Making information accessible to caregivers is an essential part of providing optimum patient care, but protecting the integrity of that information and keeping it private are equally critical.

Common sense tells us that transmitting personal data over a public network like the Internet isn't smart or safe. Security experts caution, for example, never to send anything in unencrypted e-mail that you wouldn't be comfortable sending through regular mail on a postcard. But using e-mail encryption programs sometimes requires more time than busy professionals can spare, and virtual private networks (VPNs) can be expensive to set up and time-consuming to manage.

That was the problem that Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation (AHSC) faced. AHSC, the largest multifacility hospital corporation in New Brunswick, Canada, needed a cost-effective way to allow 4,200 staff members and 323 physicians to easily share data securely between 12 sites scattered across 125 miles. AHSC provides hospital, community clinic, and home-based healthcare services to a regional population of 200,000 and a provincial population of 760,000 in southwestern New Brunswick.

Its challenge was that many of its systems could not communicate with other systems and were often inaccessible beyond the hospital's firewall, so healthcare workers could only view the data while onsite. AHSC wanted to provide user-friendly remote access to all of its information systems while ensuring that access to data and applications was governed according to employees' job descriptions and that patient healthcare data would remain secure and protected.

Secure Access, Reduced Costs

AHSC's user base includes physicians and clinical, pharmaceutical, radiology, administrative, and IT support staff. Opting to focus on just one user group for its pilot program, AHSC first investigated ways to meet the needs of the physicians, who needed remote real-time access to patient laboratory results, diagnostic images, and reports.

A pilot test revealed, however, that AHSC's planned solution, a VPN with IPSec encryption, didn't fulfill the need for an easy-to-use system, and it also proved to be costly and complex to maintain. So AHSC engaged New Brunswick-based AnyWare Group, a remote access solutions provider and Sun Microsystems technology partner. AnyWare Group's technology specialists worked closely with the AHSC team to understand their needs and integrate their information systems into a single Web browser-based user interface, powered by AnyWare's Role Oriented Access Management (ROAM) System.

Role-based security involves identifying users and their role in an organization—not only who they are but what they do—and relaying that information back to the network. The system then allows access only to the information users need to do their jobs, and also defines what users can do with that information: read it, edit it, download it, or forward it to others, for example.

Since roles are predefined according to job descriptions, users can be quickly added and given access to the ROAM system, usually in less than an hour and often within minutes. By comparison, the IPSec pilot had an average turnaround time of four days for granting remote access.

Better yet, AHSC dramatically slashed its costs for adding network users and changing passwords. Before ROAM, the healthcare provider paid $400 each time it added another network user. AnyWare Group's solution brought that cost down to just $30—a 92 percent cost reduction. Where it used to cost about $100 to recover a password, with ROAM it now costs just $15—an 85 percent reduction.

AHSC users appreciate being able to log onto the ROAM system via standard Web browsers as well. During the IPSec VPN pilot, users were required to either bring their PC to the IT department for setup, or request an onsite visit to have VPN and other software installed.

After authenticating themselves in the system, AHSC users gain access to their personal ROAM desktop, which features an easy-to-use interface that provides access to AHSC's information systems.

"The deployment of ROAM has helped us realize our vision of an integrated health community," says Derrick Jardine, CIO of AHSC. "Using ROAM, we can provide secure remote access to healthcare workers, administrators, and physicians based on their personal identity and their role in the organization. Users see only the applications they need or are authorized to use.

"Distance and technology are no longer barriers—we can use ROAM anywhere, anytime, on any network, securely. ROAM has greatly reduced our deployment cost over traditional VPN solutions, allowing us to focus on healthcare, not technology. We manage our patients and clients while AnyWare Group manages the ROAM service for us."

Freedom to ROAM

AnyWare Group's ROAM service leverages Sun Java Enterprise System, an open standards-based, integrated enterprise infrastructure software suite that combines applications—including network identity, Web and application, portal, communication and collaboration, availability, and security software—as well as support, maintenance, consulting, training, and user education services into a single entity for a single, predictable price of $100 per employee per year.

The Java Enterprise System includes the essential building blocks that enable AnyWare Group to develop, deploy, and operate highly secure applications such as portals, Web services, and communications and collaboration projects.

AnyWare Group uses Java System Portal Server Secure Remote Access, Java System Access Manager, and Java System Directory Server software to deploy a comprehensive identity management infrastructure with portal access that allows AHSC's users to connect securely to its hospital information system from anywhere. AnyWare Group hosts the service on its servers, and Java System Directory Server software handles the storage and management of identity profiles, access privileges, and application and network resource information.

"The Java Enterprise System provides a solid foundation of tools for our ROAM service, and our customers benefit from an enterprise-class IT architecture that can scale in size and scope to meet the changing needs of enterprise computing," says Gerry Verner, AnyWare Group CEO.

"Sun's Java Enterprise System has helped us in a number of ways," adds Verner. "The integrated enterprise network services have cut the cost and complexity of buying, integrating, deploying, and managing a full network solution. The predictable pricing model gives us more control over licensing and associated costs, which makes it much easier for us to deliver a clear and easy-to-understand cost structure to our clients. The all-in-one licensing for software, maintenance, support, key consulting, and education services lowers the overall costs, and we can pass these savings on to our end users."

AnyWare Group's ROAM infrastructure runs on Sun servers running the Solaris Operating System. AnyWare Group selected Sun servers based on their ability to scale, performance, and large memory capacity. The servers can handle data volume spikes. Meanwhile, the Solaris OS delivers the stability AnyWare Group requires as the backbone for ROAM.

Ultimately, AHSC got what it needed from the AnyWare Group solution running on Sun.

"AHSC is now able to offer their user community a more cost-effective remote access solution to many of the information systems that were previously not accessible beyond their infrastructure," Verner says.