National Single Sign-On

National Single-Sign On is the core authentication service in Single Sign-On.

National Single Sign-On simplifies how health and care professionals authenticate across multiple applications, reducing the need to manage multiple usernames and passwords and different credentials, while maintaining strong security and governance controls. Single Sign-On reduces complexity by providing authentication options that health and care professionals already use to log in.

Suppliers delivering systems to the NHS onboard to the appropriate National Identity and Authentication service:  

• CIS2
• NHS.net Connect

National Single Sign-On manages the complexity of multiple systems with different credentials on behalf of the users. Health and care workers use a single credential to access the applications and information they require for daily work.

National Single Sign-On is designed for:

• health and care professionals working across NHS and partner organisations
• organisations and suppliers delivering or consuming clinical and operational systems

Health and care organisations rely on a wide range of digital systems to deliver care. However, many systems are not integrated or use different identity and authentication services.

National Single Sign-On builds on national identity and verification capabilities. Users follow these steps:

1. Confirm their identity through a trusted National Identity Verification Service.
2. Register accounts and authenticators provided by one of the National Authentication services.
3. Authenticate using a secure registered method, such as biometrics, or device-based or multi-factor authentication.
4. Sign in once and move between multiple approved systems without re-entering credentials.

National Single Sign-On provides a single, trusted entry point into clinical and operational systems. By reducing the need for multiple logins and aligning access to a verified identity, National Single Sign-On:

• reduces time and effort accessing systems, improving the exprience for health and care workers
• strengthens security and assurance through a trusted identity and auditable access
• reduces duplication and complexity in managing workforce identity and access
• enables more consistent access across national and local systems

National identity services already provide secure and auditable access for over a million health and care workers across the NHS, through the Care Identity Service. Single Sign-On builds on this foundation to simplify how that access is delivered.