Access Point

Healthcare is entering a new era of identity—one that extends far beyond clinicians logging into workstations. In this episode of Access Point, Joel Vengco, SVP & Chief Information & Digital Officer at Hartford HealthCare, joins us to explore the current challenges healthcare organizations face—from password fatigue and clinician workflow disruption to rising cyber threats and constrained budgets—and how these pressures are reshaping access strategies. Joel shares a forward-looking perspective on passwordless authentication, risk-based access, and the growing role of analytics in understanding and securing identity behavior.

What did this year’s ViVE and HIMSS conferences reveal about the future of healthcare IT? From the rise of agentic AI to growing cyber threats, the industry is rethinking how technology, security, and clinical workflows intersect. In this episode of Access Point, Chip and Joel reflect on the biggest takeaways from both conferences and explore why identity and access are essential for secure, AI-enabled healthcare systems.

Passwords were never designed for the speed, complexity, or risk profile of modern healthcare—but they still sit at the center of how clinicians and patients access critical systems. In this episode of Access Point, Dr. Sean Kelly, Chief Medical Officer at Imprivata and a practicing emergency room physician, explores why traditional authentication is failing healthcare on two fronts: slowing clinicians at the point of care and weakening confidence in patient identity. Dr. Kelly connects real-world clinical experience with recent industry research to explain how password-based access contributes to workflow friction, clinician burnout, security exposure, and patient identification errors.

In this episode of Access Point, Martin Kuppinger, founder and Principal Analyst at KuppingerCole, discusses the biggest trends in Identity and Access Management (IAM) in 2025—and what’s coming next in 2026. Martin shares his insights on real-world lessons from recent breaches, where organizations are getting IAM right (and wrong), the evolving role of non-human identities, the practical path toward passwordless authentication, the next wave of investment and innovation expected, and why prioritizing foundational security hygiene still outweighs chasing the latest acronym.

In this episode of Access Point, Greg Garcia of the Health Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC) discusses the organization’s newly released guidance: SMART (Sector Mapping and Risk Toolkit)—a transformative methodology for visualizing and managing systemic vendor and workflow risks in healthcare. Greg takes us through SMART’s key principles, phases of implementation, and real-world application, offering practical guidance for organizations of all sizes to move from reactive defense to proactive resilience.

In this episode of Access Point, Steve Shoaff, CEO of Verosint, breaks down the essentials of Identity Threat Detection & Response (ITDR)—why it matters, how it works, and what’s next. From protecting employees to privileged users and third parties, learn how ITDR strengthens identity security and prepares organizations for the future.

Passwords are the weakest link in IT security—so why do we still rely on them? In our inaugural episode of Access Point, Andrew Shikiar, CEO of the FIDO Alliance, joins the show to explore the global movement toward passwordless authentication. From phishing-resistant passkeys to enterprise adoption strategies, discover what it takes to finally break free from the password.

Access Point is the podcast where cybersecurity meets operational strategy in mission-critical environments.