Case Study: The Nord Center

The Nord Center operates a 24/7 hotline for rape, suicide, mental health and other crisis situations, answering over 18,000 calls each year. Operating this hotline requires swift action and counsel to callers. Quick access to health records can make the difference in whether a situation escalates or not.

This high pressure environment, combined with the need to remember complex, changing passwords to access company systems and patient data repositories, makes it tempting for ESS staff to remain logged into their systems for long periods of time. This practice could place patient data at risk and makes audits of data access nearly impossible.

HIPAA compliance is of the utmost importance. The Nord Center requires an absolute form of authentication for digital signatures on patient records. It also needs a mechanism for managing and tracking multiple users of ESS hotline PCs.