Imprivata

Overview

Imprivata is the dominant identity and access vendor in healthcare, known for clinical single sign-on, tap-and-go badge access, and privileged access in care settings. It sold its general identity governance (IGA) business to SailPoint in 2024 to focus on access and PAM for healthcare, so it is now best understood as a vertical access specialist rather than a horizontal governance platform.

What it is good at

For healthcare, Imprivata is in a class of its own. Speed and convenience for clinicians (badge tap to switch workstations in seconds), strong shared-workstation handling, and deep familiarity with clinical workflows and regulatory requirements are unmatched in the vertical. In environments where slow logins directly impede patient care, that purpose-built convenience is a decisive advantage, backed by strong authentication and passwordless capabilities.

Where it falls short

Outside healthcare, the story narrows sharply. Horizontal IGA is no longer its focus after the SailPoint divestiture, the developer experience is limited, and it is a vertical specialist by design rather than a general-purpose identity platform. Organizations outside care settings, or those wanting broad governance, should look elsewhere.

Pricing

Quote-based enterprise licensing. Model it against horizontal alternatives with the TCO calculator.

Best for, and who should look elsewhere

Choose Imprivata for healthcare access: clinical SSO, tap-and-go, and care-setting PAM. For horizontal enterprise IGA, see SailPoint vs Saviynt; for the healthcare vertical context, see the healthcare vertical.

Bottom line

The default access-and-identity choice for healthcare, unmatched for clinical SSO and shared-workstation access, and narrow outside that vertical.