Northern Health is about to change its Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, in line with Department of Health (DoH) security requirements.

The DoH requires all Northern Health mobile devices, including applications and data on bring your own devices, to be managed by a new MDM system to ensure security on the health service’s network.

Microsoft Intune has been selected as Northern Health’s new MDM platform. ICT will start enrolling all mobile devices into Microsoft Intune by the end of June.

Once Microsoft Intune has been implemented, if a device is lost or stolen, it can be wiped directly from Intune. Mobile apps will be available for users to install directly without having to ask permission from ICT and, if a device is misplaced, Intune can track its last-known location. Devices will be backed up prior to the enrolment to ensure data on the device is not lost.

If a device is not enrolled in Intune, ICT will be required to block the device from accessing any Northern Health data.

David Calvo, Chief Information Officer, said with recent data breaches in other well-known organisations, it was a timely reminder the information of our patients was of a high priority.

“Northern Health has had many limitations with the current MDM solution in place. Intune will allow us to increase the corporate mobile device fleet security, be compliant with the cyber security requirements from the Department of Health and improve productivity by streamlining processes. I will also allow ICT to be more flexible with Northern Health users by allowing the enrolment of a wider spectrum of mobile devices,” he said.

Megan Farrell, Project Manager, said Microsoft Intune was a, “great move forward to secure data for Northern Health.”

Staff using a Northern Health owned mobile device will need to complete a short online form before Friday, 14 April to ensure the device is configured correctly.

For further information please visit the ICT Mobile Devices Procedure on PROMPT.

Featured image L-R: Anthony Bordon, ICT Support Officer, David Calvo, Chief Information Officer, Andrea Clancy, ICT Admin Support, Megan Farrell, Project Manager and Neha Singh ICT.