Risk Management – Atriade http://atriade.com Experts in Physical Security Consultation Tue, 11 Feb 2025 21:34:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.11 http://atriade.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-logo-e1581605014445-50x50-1-32x32.png Risk Management – Atriade http://atriade.com 32 32 198180543 Strategic IoT Management for Enhanced Safety http://atriade.com/strategic-iot-management-for-enhanced-safety/ http://atriade.com/strategic-iot-management-for-enhanced-safety/#respond Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:44:28 +0000 https://atriade.com/?p=21445

Digital Transformation and Security: Strategic IoT Management for Enhanced Safety

The Management of the Internet of Things (IoT)

This article focuses on the management of IoT, highlighting security’s role in digital transformation.

internet of things (IoT) security threats in digital transformation

An IoT Primer

At the core of a robust IoT strategy is providing the ability to install and manage devices on a large scale, but device management is just one of five functions organizations typically are seeking to achieve. The others are lifecycle management, work orders and ticketing, reporting, and lowering security infrastructure. 

Device Management

Determining how to manage the myriad of devices in a security system is a critical decision because when you begin to network things like cameras, your vulnerability increases. You can use middleware to facilitate systemwide communication or make your devices IoT aware. 

The device management process includes five important components: 

  • Device Authentication—the act of securely establishing the identity of a device to ensure it can be trusted.
  • Provisioning—the process when a device is first plugged in and connected to the local network; it “calls home,” and based on the credentials or other information such as model and serial number, it might receive further configuration data .
  • Configuration and Control Support—the act of delivering attributes such as its name, location, and application-specific settings such as the amount of time between sending position messages and the ability to remotely reset a device to achieve a known-good state, recover from errors, and implement new configuration changes.
  • Monitoring and Diagnostics—the ability to minimize the impact of any device downtime due to software bugs or other unforeseen operational problems, which includes downloading program logs to troubleshoot and solve issues.
  • Software Maintenance and Updates—essential to securely update and maintain remote devices, fix application bugs, add simple feature enhancements, or update the main running application software without touching the platform firmware.

Lifecycle Management

Determining the lifecycle of security system components is critical to ensure there is no lag time when they need to be replaced. This includes keeping track of data such as where they were procured when they were deployed, what kind of warranty they have, their repair history, and their replacement cost.  

 Lifecycle management also focuses on the importance of being aware of design and development challenges that can arise from IoT. For instance, more flexible development methods that enable an efficiently deployed environment on a global scale must consider ease of integration. In addition, security is a paramount concern in IoT development. A robust security strategy must be factored in across the application lifecycle at the design stage.  

Testing and debugging, deployment, and decommissioning also need to be taken into consideration under the lifecycle management umbrella. Perhaps the most critical value proposition of an IoT system is the ability to unlock and extract data from devices, aggregate, analyze, and make business decisions based on insights realized. 

Work Orders and Ticketing

IoT can be invaluable when dealing with changes to a device state, as having an integrated work order solution and knowledge base with FAQs can result in streamlining the work order generation process. This may facilitate the ability to move tickets between categories, assign tickets to specific staff members, link or split requests based on their subject, and do a mass reply to multiple requests. Integrating alarm response with work order ticketing is rare today, but we consider it to be a solid strategy with next-generation solutions.   

Reporting

Integrated reporting in the IoT enterprise is extremely important. When something happens, you need to know why. Plus, having reporting technology that is ubiquitous and accessible anywhere makes it easier to justify expenditures and will help make a case for future spending. The real-time data ingest process should feed right into the same reporting engine. 

Lower Security Infrastructure

Embracing the power of IoT has the potential to eliminate expensive infrastructure while enhancing functionality. For instance, access control can be implemented by leveraging cognitive services like facial recognition, biometrics, or other nextgeneration modalities to eliminate the plastic credential and card reader, and maybe even the presence of guards. In addition, relying on the power of cloud platform services may eliminate a middle application and break the traditional model.   

Better Compliance and IT Security Tools

One of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is that most security systems devices are not IoT-compliant. Many of the legacy IT-based protocols like SNMP are not robust enough to support a more contemporary IoT strategy.  

Forward-thinking organizations should be asking themselves how they can achieve better compliance by leveraging current IT tools to help with the following concerns: 

  • Log retention, management, and analysis—all in one platform .
  • Analyzing logs automatically to detect malicious behavior directed at in-scope devices .
  • Active and passive asset discovery and monitoring .
  • Network and host IDs .
  • Flexible reporting and dashboard .
  • Auditor-ready report templates.
  • Role-based access control for customized views.
  • Custom report queries and fast searches .

The Takeaway

What are the first steps towards an IoT strategy for your organization’s security system ecosystem?

Start with an assessment of where you are today and follow that up with a feasibility study. Remember, your ROI has two components—monetary and efficiency. If you’ve uncovered a device vulnerability that requires 10,000 widgets to be updated, imagine the difference between having to do each one individually or having the ability to do a bulk update. 

Uncover the integral role of physical security in the digital transformation landscape and process of Departmental Collaboration, also Take proactive measures to secure your digital infrastructure with insights on administration and effective device mitigation.

About Atriade

Atriade Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects, in 60+ industries, in 30+ countries. If you are ready to get expert assistance in creating your governance plan that will set you apart from your competitors, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

Our expert team at Atriade has helped countless organizations address security’s role in digital transformation at their facilities. Contact Us if you would like to discuss your situation. 

Visit us online at Atriade.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk  

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Why Regular Security Assessments Are Essential for Maximizing Safety http://atriade.com/regular-security-assessments/ http://atriade.com/regular-security-assessments/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:01:09 +0000 https://atriade.com/?p=20985

Why Regular Security Assessments Are Essential for Maximizing Safety

why regular security assessments is necessary

The Value of a Security Assessment

Security assessments are an important line of defense in organizations’ ever-evolving landscape of threats. At their core, a high-quality security assessment allows an organization to be proactive in doing business. This creates a safe work environment for employees, protects the business’s most valuable assets, and helps the organization reach its goals.

Different types of assessments—be it physical, digital, or procedural—will involve different elements, but all security assessments will utilize the same best practices in their development.

Throughout this article, we will explore these essential elements and how they can be used in security planning. 

When is a Security Assessment Needed?

Sometimes, a security assessment is triggered by an external or internal incident that exposes gaps in the existing security plan. This incident could happen to the organization itself or within the wider industry.

In other cases, leadership may determine a security assessment is needed because of identified inefficiencies, a need for new technology, or to achieve industry compliance.

Whenever the organizational needs and goals do not align with the current security plans, it is time to assess or reassess. 

security updates on regular basis

Preliminary Guidance for Effective Security Assessments

Engaging in the assessment process before you even begin properly is important. What does this look like in practice?

  • Leadership alignment – does leadership understand the need and is committed to success?
  • Identifying objectives – are you beginning with the end in mind? Are there clear objectives?
  • Strong project governance – is there a process in place for effective execution? Have you identified the stakeholders and scope? Who are the decision-makers at each phase?

This framework is important to have in place before even starting the security assessment. If you are working with a professional team, they can help you with this preliminary process.

3-Phases of a Security Assessment

There are three phases of a security assessment; current state discovery, gap analysis, and future state recommendations. Each of these parts is important to creating a final plan. The final security assessment will provide a roadmap for leaders to implement in a strategic and proactive way.

regular security guard

Current State Discovery

When diving into a current state assessment, it’s vital to thoroughly explore the existing environment. The review should include the people, processes, and technology involved at each step. Engage with stakeholders at every level of the organization. Include time for individual conversations to gain diverse perspectives, including those from the day-to-day workers all the way up to leadership.

Collect and document the data meticulously. Whenever you can, evaluate the physical spaces and technology in action—there’s no substitute for observing firsthand the realities of the environment you’re evaluating. Also, review existing documentation and the organization’s history, as they can shed light on the how and why behind the current state, helping guide your assessment toward actionable insights. 

Gap Analysis

Begin the gap analysis once your current state analysis is complete. Measure the current state against:

  • Industry/market standards
  • Best practices
  • Existing organizational concerns
  • End goals

Additionally, evaluate the risks associated with each of the discovered gaps. Are these gaps resulting in higher overhead, added risk, inefficiency, additional cost, or something else?

In some cases, the policies and procedures exist, but there is no governance structure for implementation.

regular security testing

Future State Recommendations

Using the current state and gap assessment, the final phase of the security assessment is creating future state recommendations. These recommendations will work to close the gaps, so the organization can achieve its goals. It should identify the technology, policies and procedures, governance changes, and organizational measures to help the organization reduce its overall risk. It will also include a summary of the current state and gap analysis and a detailed roadmap for implementation. An organization may prioritize according to the highest risk level, easiest to implement, quickest gains, or another metric. When completed, it will show a cost analysis and connect to the long-term strategic vision.

Roles and responsibilities must be identified to connect it to the existing infrastructure and determine where additional support needs to be hired – either through internal employees or outside consultants.

Connecting all of this to the organization’s long-term strategy vision is an important part of a high-quality plan, and understanding the leadership goals and objectives from the beginning is so important. 

Conclusion

Security assessments are an important proactive step for every organization. High-quality security assessments empower organizations to be proactive, ensuring a safe working environment, safeguarding business interests, and facilitating the achievement of organizational goals.

Whether physical, digital, or procedural, each type of assessment taps into the same pool of best practices, adapting them to fit specific contexts. By following best practices and the 3-phases process of current state analysis, gap analysis, and future state planning, organizations can be more ready to adjust to a changing future. 

About Atriade

Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects in 60+ industries in 30+ countries. If you are looking for support in crafting your full spectrum security plans that will set you apart in a competitive marketplace, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

Our client portfolio includes Fortune 50 companies, Ivy League universities, and leading technology firms in Silicon Valley. 

 Visit us online at Atriade.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk   

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Best Practices for Incident Management in Physical Security http://atriade.com/physical-security-incident-management/ http://atriade.com/physical-security-incident-management/#respond Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:37:20 +0000 https://atriade.com/?p=17761

Best Practices for Incident Management in Physical Security

Governance is essential for incident management.  When executed correctly, it provides the framework, policies, and procedures necessary to effectively respond to and manage security incidents.

How prepared is your organization to handle an incident in a timely and efficient manner?

Good governance can help ensure that an incident response plan is in place and that everyone involved knows their roles and responsibilities. It also helps to ensure that the right resources, including personnel and technology, are available to effectively respond to incidents as they occur in a timely and efficient manner.

Four ways to maximize the role of governance at your organization:

  • Develop Effective Communication
  • Build Strong Partnerships
  • Test, Test, and Test Some More
  • Commit to Continuous Improvement

Let’s review each of these aspects of governance in more detail.

 

Develop Effective Communication

Effective communication is a critical component of good governance, especially when it comes to incident management. Some key considerations for creating effective communication as part of governance are:

Define clear roles and responsibilities

All stakeholders, including members of the incident response team, senior management, and relevant departments, should have clear and well-defined roles and responsibilities. This will ensure that everyone knows what they need to do and when they need to do it.

Establish communication protocols

Establishing clear and effective communication protocols can help to ensure that information is shared quickly and efficiently during an incident. This may include:

  • Defining a chain of command
  • Establishing a common terminology
  • Providing clear guidance
  • Determining what types of information should be shared and with whom
  • Identifying a shared medium for messaging

Foster a culture of open communication

Encouraging open and transparent communication can help to build trust and ensure that everyone involved in the incident response is working together effectively. This may involve regular status updates, open forums for discussion and feedback, and a commitment to transparency in the reporting of incidents and their resolution.

Plan for external communication

In addition to internal communication, it’s important to plan for external communication, such as with customers, regulators, and the media. Having a clear crisis plan in place for how to communicate with these stakeholders during an incident can help to minimize damage to the organization’s reputation and maintain customer trust.

By incorporating these considerations into governance for incident management, organizations can ensure that communication is effective, efficient, and consistent, and that everyone involved is working together to minimize the impact of security incidents.

Build Strong Partnerships

Governance can help demonstrate to stakeholders, including customers and regulatory agencies, that the organization takes security seriously and is taking steps to protect sensitive information and assets. This can help to build trust and confidence in the organization, which is essential for maintaining a strong reputation and preserving customer loyalty.

Make sure that you are including both internal and external partnerships. Some examples of external partners to consider may include:

  • Local emergency responders
  • Sourcing providers
  • Business recovery sites
  • Backup production facilities
  • Local officials needed for permitting
  • Experts needed to problem-solve during a crisis
  • Local catering services
  • Mental health resources
  • Customers needing to be contacted during an incident
  • News media

The reality is that if the first time you ever contact these individuals and organizations is during a crisis, it will extend and even delay the time to get help and support. Building strong partnerships will make the difference between mitigating versus extending the impact of an incident. Having a clear plan in place for how to communicate with these stakeholders during an incident can help to minimize damage to the organization’s reputation and maintain customer trust.

When it comes to internal relationships, things like company events and celebrations can help connect people to one another. This should happen both informally and formally through structured introductions and internal networking.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Who are your stakeholders in the plan?
  • How will you build and maintain relationships with these people?
  • Who needs to be connected through an introduction?
  • How are we keeping the contact information of each of these stakeholders up to date?
  • Who is responsible for making changes to the governance plan when there are changes in people or roles?

Test, Test, and Test

The first time you have an incident in your business should not be the first time you are reviewing your governance plan as it relates to that incident. Whether it is a cyber incident, a physical security incident, an environmental issue, or something else, it is critical that your team has reviewed and practiced their response.

The last thing you want during a crisis is someone struggling to find a manual. 

A tabletop exercise can make all the difference. In order to do this effectively, you want to get all the appropriate stakeholders in a room and review the process step by step. This can help identify possible points of failure and address them ahead of time. It will also ensure that you have all the information you need on hand when the time comes. Many businesses may not know how to effectively run tabletop scenarios, or haven’t taken the time to do it. This is one area where additional support from an outside consultant can be helpful.

Commit to Continuous Improvement

No matter how perfect your governance plan is, it will need to be updated and improved on a regular basis in order to continue to work effectively. The first step is to commit as an organization to continuous improvement. And then to take the direct steps to make it happen. This happens in three areas; people, process, and tools.

People

  • Who is responsible for driving the process?
  • Who has improvement on their job description and is able to commit the time and resources to moving this initiative forward?
  • Are they empowered to take the action needed?

Process

  • What is the process for making changes in response to both positive and negative feedback?
  • Is every stakeholder aware of this process and how to align it with their part of the system?

Tools

  • What tools exist to support the people and process? Whether it is as simple as a spreadsheet or a more advanced set of tools.
  • Is everyone able to access these tools?
  • Do these tools facilitate feedback from every level of the organization?

Summary

Governance can help build a process to ensure that incidents are documented and analyzed. This allows a business to determine the root cause of the problem and to identify opportunities for improvement.

You can take it a step further, and improve the overall security posture of the organization, reducing the likelihood of future incidents and improving the resilience of the organization in the face of future threats. This can be accomplished by developing effective communication strategies, building strong partnerships, testing your scenarios, and committing to continuous improvement. Each part of this process is vital to creating a robust and strong organization that will be able to withstand the inevitable incidents that arise.

About Atriade

Atriade Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects, in 60+ industries, in 30+ countries. If you are ready to get expert assistance in creating your governance plan that will set you apart from your competitors, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

Visit us online at Atriade.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk  

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How to Utilize Governance for Security Decision-Making http://atriade.com/security-governance-decision-making/ http://atriade.com/security-governance-decision-making/#respond Tue, 21 Feb 2023 10:55:14 +0000 https://atriade.com/?p=17437

How to Utilize Governance for Security Decision-Making

Decision-making is a vital process that organizations must engage in on a daily basis. Executives in particular face pressure to make the right decisions that will move the company forward, best utilize resources, improve efficiency, and grow the performance of the company.

A key component to making informed decisions well is proper governance.

In a recent LinkedIn poll, we asked our audience if their security organization has a documented governance plan in place that addresses incident management, communication, and escalation.

75% said yes. If you are in the 25% of organizations that don’t, then keep reading to learn more about why this is critical. And even if you are in the 75%, you might want to see if it is time to update your governance plan.

Mission, Strategy, and Key Objectives

There are several steps to successful governance. The first step is to attach it to your mission, strategy, and key objectives as an organization.

Mission – Why does your organization exist and who does it serve?

Strategy – What steps does your organization take to achieve its goals, and who are the people important to that success?

Key Objectives – What are the benchmarks along the way, and how will you know whether you are succeeding or failing?

All three must work together to ensure that operations stay on track with expected outcomes. By establishing a strong governance system with an effective mission, strategy, and key objectives, organizations can increase their chances of long-term success.

Governance is a team sport! Every person in the organization plays a role in connecting governance to these three things, from the top of the organization all the way down to the bottom. Without this broad-based thinking, the governance plan won’t work.

Risk Factors

Often, governance is seen as a cost-incurring activity rather than a revenue-generating one. And this is true from a strictly accounting standpoint. However, it only tells part of the story.

What are we losing by not making the right decisions?

Are you able to quantify how a lack of governance is costing your business?
Examples could include:

  • Loss of reputation
  • Security risks
  • Safety risks
  • Financial losses
  • Missed growth opportunities

What can we gain through effective governance?

How would your bottom line benefit if governance was a consideration in every part of your business?

Examples could include:

  • Ability to attract talent
  • Successful partnerships and opportunities
  • Improved efficiency and use of resources
  • Financial growth
  • A high level of security and safety for both employees and clients

What is the value of these items?

Are you able to assign a measurable dollar value to these items? How could this change your business for the better?

Answering these questions will help get buy-in from all the relevant stakeholders and create a vision for your business where governance works.

Strategic Implementation

Step 1: Form a Governance Leadership Team

It is critical that your security team has a seat at this table. Otherwise, you may end up with systems or processes that are either ineffective at reaching your goals, or so onerous to implement on a practical basis that they are never enforced.

This team will establish the authority and scope, the approved standards, and the process to make corrections along the way.

Step 2: Engage All Levels of People, Process, and Technology

Governance must include all these areas of a business in order to be successful.

If you miss one area, the rest of the governance planning can break down.

Step 3: Build Your Governance Framework

Be aware of your organizational structure and how to build your governance accordingly. Too many organizations have a flat governance structure that is overly reliant on one segment of your team.

This can end up in a security director being called every time an incident occurs, rather than being able to attend to the important strategic analysis of the security department as a whole.

  • Operational Level – Makes day-to-day operational decisions that have been previously defined in the governance plan and escalate non-standard items
  • Working Team – Applies leadership guidance on a local and regional level to resolve non-standard operations and escalates high-impact or strategic items
  • Core Team – Executes strategy to achieve the vision and provides strategic-level problem resolution
  • Executive Team – Defines vision, direction, and the strategic plan

Utilizing this structure and making sure that every individual knows where they fit will ensure appropriate application.

Step 4: Expect and Design for Change

Your governance plan must include a plan for the inevitable and constant changes that come with business functioning.

Create a robust decision-making process that includes assessment and impact analysis and know how and when to escalate.

  • Is there a framework for how and when to ask for upgrades?
  • Does each person know how and where to report breakdowns in the systems?
  • Are team members empowered to take responsibility and know how and when to escalate issues?

You should approach governance as a multi-year plan that you update every year. This allows you to work in a big-picture way, while still responding to a changing environment.

Keys to Successful Governance Planning for Decision-Making

Building relationships throughout your organization matters. Sometimes in the details and technical work of governance planning this is missed. Open communication, combined with strategic decision-making, are powerful tools.

Utilize steering committees and small work teams when possible so that you can streamline your efforts.

Summary

Governance can be a powerful tool in your toolbox for effective decision-making. It can help position your business as a leader in their field. However, it takes a commitment by the entire organization in order to be successful.

About Atriade

Atriade Atriade has worked on over 500+ projects, in 60+ industries, in 30+ countries. If you are ready to get expert assistance in creating your governance plan that will set you apart from your competitors, we are here to help. Our management team carries a lifetime of experience in all areas of Physical Security and Electronic Security that we are ready to put to work for your unique business and team.

Visit us online at Atriade.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk  

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Best Practices for Effective Troubleshooting http://atriade.com/troubleshooting-best-practices/ http://atriade.com/troubleshooting-best-practices/#respond Mon, 12 Dec 2022 08:42:21 +0000 https://atriade.com/?p=16121

Best Practices for Effective Troubleshooting

troubleshooting best practices

It is a reality in the world of technology that sometimes things will go wrong. In a perfect world, we can prevent every problem before it starts. And good planning and proactive threat assessment can get you a long way. But when issues still arise, having a strong process in place can make all the difference.

There are three steps to a successful troubleshooting process; Assessment, Planning, and Execution. Each of these pieces are important to find and solve whatever problem you face.

Assessment: What is the Real Source of the Problem?

The first step is assessment. Bring curiosity and an open mind as you complete your assessment. In some cases, what seems like the source of the problem is actually a symptom.

troubleshooting problems

Several possible areas should be assessed, including:

  • Is the problem a breakdown of the physical components, hardware, or software?
  • Are standard operating procedures being followed and information shared effectively?
  • Do the right people have the needed permissions and access?
  • Is there support and engagement from leadership where needed?
  • Are funds being allocated in ways that align with established goals and objectives?
  • Who are the stakeholders that need to be involved in finding a solution?

A secure facility is only one part of a secure system.

In some cases, the problem may be arising from an intersection of one or more of these areas. Jumping to only technical areas of concern leaves out many important cross-sections of decision-making.

In addition to determining the source of the problem, assessment establishes the urgency, the budgetary constraints, and the stakeholders who need to be involved in a solution.

Ensuring that team members are present to participate in these types of trainings are critical to emergency response.

Tactical Planning

The next step is using the data from the assessment to plan the process. By creating a plan before starting implementation you ensure that all the resources and people are available.

best troubleshooting methods

Ultimately, this leads to a faster and smoother process and prevents additional issues from cropping up during the troubleshooting process.

Tactical planning should include:

  • A step-by-step plan of action
  • Timelines and deadlines with dependencies
  • Task list that is connected to the timeline with clarity of who is responsible for each task
  • A process to manage the workflow and address challenges as they come up
  • Isolate the problem and conduct step-by-step testing and validation

Ensuring that team members are present to participate in these types of trainings are critical to emergency response.

Execution: Active Implementation for Best Results

It is important during this step to have a clear picture of who owns each step of the process. Strategic implementation means that there will always be a status on project progress and clarity about what needs to happen next.

troubleshooting steps

This is where the phrase “work the plan” comes into play.

Key elements of an active approach to implementation include:

  • Match the energy of execution with the priorities of the organization
  • Manage individual tasks and stakeholders effectively
  • Validate at each step along the way
  • Communicate, communicate, communicate and provide clear expectations
  • Create documentation throughout the process (issue logs, punch logs, meeting minutes)
  • Align each part of the process with the end goal in mind
  • Be active rather than passive throughout the process
  • Develop and communicate contingencies to ensure continuity of operational process

Challenges can and do come up in most complex technical projects. But effective execution will work around, through, and over those challenges. Go back to the assessment process to determine where the breakdown is happening. Does a new stakeholder need to be looped in? Is there a dependent factor that needs to be addressed first?

In some cases, even when a detailed plan is created problems arise during execution. Sometimes this is because the problems are entrenched to the point that it hinders the path forward.

However, by doing detailed analysis and planning you will be able to identify the origin of each hurdle. This can provide a roadmap for how to reroute during the execution phase. In the end, solutions are only reached when you have participation at all levels.

Conclusion

Avoid the temptation to take shortcuts in your troubleshooting process. Ensuring that you give the time and attention needed to each phase will keep your goals moving forward on time. At every phase keep these essential things in mind:

  • Be active and assertive – don’t just pass the ball!
  • Ask questions – and ask again and again until you have the information you need
  • Isolate components of the problem
  • Direct and lead in a proactive way
  • Take ownership of the process
  • Ask for help when you need it
  • Engage and communicate expectations, and contingencies

About Atriade

Atriade is a security consulting firm. We provide security system design services for access control, perimeter protection, video and visitor management, and other physical security technologies. We also provide security master planning, program development, risk assessments, professional services, and project management.

Our client portfolio includes Fortune 50 companies, Ivy League universities, and leading technology firms in Silicon Valley.

Visit us online at Atriade.com 

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Subscribe to our LinkedIn Newsletter: Take A Risk  

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3 Key Areas That Can Improve Holistic Healthcare Credentialing http://atriade.com/improve-holistic-healthcare-credentialing/ http://atriade.com/improve-holistic-healthcare-credentialing/#respond Thu, 14 Jul 2022 09:54:38 +0000 https://atriade.com/?p=12373

3 Key Areas That Can Improve Holistic Healthcare Credentialing

healthcare credentialing improvement

How holistic credential management can enhance the healthcare user experience

Traditional identity and access management at hospitals and healthcare facilities result in gaps that affect physicians, training management and application access, and visitor and patient access.

In this article, we will delve into the challenges in these three areas and present best practice solutions to mitigate the issues.

  • Lengthy Onboarding
  • Impacted Patient Care
  • Negative Guest Experience
  • Affected RVUs and Billing

Visitor and Patient Access

The challenges we see with visitor and patient access are:

  • Current processes at most hospitals are manual
  • Minimal or no integration with any hospital applications
  • Manual look ups for visitor verification and patient visit validation take time, creating an inefficient or long process

The Bottom Line

Pilot trials have shown up to 2 minutes of total process time from arriving at the desk to being guided to their destination.

Value Proposition

Visitor and patient credentialing issues can be mitigated by:

  • Adding informed intelligence into the purpose of the visit using a workflow visitor process
  • Integration with electronic health records and vendor management systems to considerably speed up the process
  • Relying on bulk registrations to speed up regular patients and visitors by adding pre-verified workflows to their check-in process
  • Integrating with wayfinding apps to reduce staff time to provide needed assistance

It Makes a Difference

Pilot trials have shown reduction of total process time to 67 seconds when integrated solutions were used.

This holistic user experience results in significant benefits to the hospital:

  • Faster experience for visitors and patients upon arrival
  • Less repetition for repeat visitors and patients
  • Higher awareness for administrators and visitors for movement within the hospital
healthcare credentialing process

Training Management and Application

The challenges we see with training management and applications in hospitals and healthcare facilities are:

  • The prerequisite training process is typically manual, with several siloed systems
  • Current physician training management timelines can impact access to applications in a timely manner, creating delays in the physician getting started
  • Only roles and responsibilities for physical access are defined

The Bottom Line

Integration with logical access can significantly expedite processes for physician access to critical applications, getting them properly trained and credentialed quicker.

Training management and application results in significant benefits by:

  • Start with the outcome of the project
  • Using integration principles to help assign and track training status and update credential privileges as steps are completed
  • Assigning the right levels of access through downstream integration into access control
  • Automating and tracking annual and periodic operational and application trainings so physician access isn’t disabled or violated
  • Scheduling integration with physical access

It Makes a Difference

The use of integration will significantly cut down the current process, which is frustrating for physicians and hospital administrators.

This holistic user experience results in significant benefits:

  • Informed training exercises reducing application downtime
  • Less overhead on repetitive training and credentialing efforts
  • More efficient and optimal use of resources
holistic healthcare credentialing keys

Physician Credentialing

The challenges we see that impact physician with respect to proper credentialling are:

  • The process is lengthy, manual, and error-prone, frequently relying on faxes and emails
  • Data sources are disparate and overlapping, with multiple credentialing committees
  • Physician onboarding using current practice models typically requires 3+months

The Bottom Line

The overall process is cumbersome and can delay physicians getting onboarded, strain the credentialing system, and create an overall negative experience for all parties.

Physician credentialing issues can be significantly improved by:

  • Integrating with the various data sources to reduce significant time in obtaining physician information and optimize a committee’s role for verification and approvals
  • Building a single source access portal to maintain integrity of process, documentation, and information exchange
  • Using an audit trail to track any missed steps and provide progress to all parties
  • Documenting exceptions so proper audit controls are in place and visible to all parties

It Makes a Difference

The use of integration will significantly cut down the current months-long process that is frustrating for physicians and hospital administrators.

This holistic user experience results in significant benefits:

  • Faster credentialing and onboarding
  • Informed progress regarding onboarding
  • Reduction of time and effort for physicians and administrators
  • Quicker hiring of physicians to facilitate patient care
  • Lesser overhead for onboarding and credentialing
  • More efficient and optimal use of resources

Key Takeaways

Our value proposition in healthcare security best practices revolves around employing a holistic focus on the user experience and change management support across the entire platform.

holistic healthcare credentialing

By addressing the gaps that affect physicians, training management and application access, and visitor and patient access, the overall experience is optimal, secure, and beneficial to all parties.

About Atriade

Atriade is a security consulting firm. We provide security system design services for access control, perimeter protection, video and visitor management, and other physical security technologies. We also provide security master planning, program development, risk assessments, professional services, and project management.

Our client portfolio includes Fortune 50 companies, Ivy League universities, and leading technology firms in Silicon Valley.

Visit us online at Atriade.com 

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