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Affiliate Collaboration Transformation Program

Advancing the missions of Stanford Medicine, together

ACT Logo

Our Vision

Colleagues from Stanford University, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Children’s Health are working together on initiatives to improve collaboration, communication, and security solutions. This unified effort will enable individuals across Stanford Medicine to share information more easily and securely. 

The Affiliate Collaboration Transformation program (ACT) is a multi-year initiative divided into three phases: 

  • Phase 1
     
    Microsoft Office 365 environments
  • PhAse 2
     
     
    Google Workspace
  • Phase 3
     
    Single Home Identity

“The final goal of the program is to provide a single account to each person within Stanford Medicine, issued by their primary employer, which can be used to access resources across Stanford Medicine.”

- Joshua Barnett, IT Director and Enterprise Infrastructure Architect, UIT

Goals and benefits

Cost benefits

  • Reduced need for double licensing
  • Eliminate duplicative storage within personal accounts
  • Improved efficiency with streamlined applications and sharing policies 

Enhanced efficiency

  • Seamless and secure file sharing between licensed Stanford affiliate users
  • Reduced need to maintain multiple Stanford identities to access applications at the university and hospitals
  • Individuals can log in to applications with their home affiliate ID
  • Unified directory simplifies communication and collaboration

Security gains

  • Sharing controls put in place for affiliate systems
  • Adherence to Stanford Medicine's compliance policies and standards
  • Facilitated monitoring of high-risk data, including PHI and PII, on university collaboration systems

Guiding principals of the ACT program

Secure file storage and sharing

In the university, Microsoft Office 365 (O365) and Google tenants enable secure file sharing:

  • with authorized SHC and SCH users using their respective home IDs
  • meeting the compliance requirements of affiliate entities using controls equal to or better than what exists in Medicine Box today
  • with the ability to edit, download, and upload High Risk data, including PHI, using compliant devices across any network

Teamwork and collaboration

Enable cross-affiliate collaboration through:

  • a toolbox of shared O365 and Google Workspace applications
  • real-time sharing and editing in personal and group-based storage locations
  • the ability to look up active individuals across affiliates and view their availability
  • online meetings, shared team sites, and access to meeting recordings
  • shared reports and capacity planning tools native to the platform
  • a unified affiliate governance structure to keep changes and updates in sync

Projects and initiatives

Microsoft Office 365 Partnership

Transforming collaboration and communication capabilities across Stanford Medicine with new tools and features within the university and hospital Microsoft 365 environments. 

Learn more »

Authentication and Directory Enhancements

Updating the existing directories at Stanford University and the Stanford hospitals to enhance cross-affiliate collaboration and enable more modern authentication options for additional flexibility.

Learn more »

Google Workspace Collaboration

Empowering the sharing of documents and folders in Google My Drive and shared drives with people across Stanford Medicine. 

Learn more »

Data Security Improvements

Enhancing the security and privacy capabilities of email, file sharing, and other collaboration tools used at Stanford University and the Stanford hospitals.  

Learn more »

Affiliate Application Access

Enabling hundreds of applications to leverage the enhanced shared directory information of Stanford University and the Stanford hospitals. 

Learn more »

Single Home Identity

Providing access for individuals at Stanford University and the Stanford hospitals to log into applications across Stanford Medicine with just a single account. 

Learn more »

More information

Communications

Articles

​Resources and training

Presentations

Roles

Stanford Medicine Executive Sponsors 

  • Mike Pfeffer (SHC) - Chief Information Officer, Stanford Health Care and School of Medicine
  • Christian Lindmark (SHC) - Chief Technology Officer and Vice President
  • Mike Mucha (SHC) - Chief Information Security Officer
  • Tanya Townsend (SMCH) - Chief Information and Digital Officer
  • Bill Wilson (SMCH) - Chief Technology Officer and Vice President
  • Robert Maclay (SMCH) - Chief Information Security Officer

Stanford Medicine Program Managers

  • Nancy Hart (SHC) - IT Program Manager
  • Katie Evans (SMCH) - Digital Information Solutions (Digi-IS) Program Manager

Stanford University Executive Sponsors

  • Steve Gallagher - Chief Information Officer
  • Brad Immanuel - Executive Director, Client Experience and Solutions
  • Ganesh Karkala - Chief Technology Officer and Associate Vice President, Enterprise Technology
  • Amy Steagall - Chief Information Security Officer

Stanford University IT Core Team

  • Joshua Barnett - IT Director, Enterprise Infrastructure Architecture
  • Armand Capote - Senior Director, Enterprise Technology and Infrastructure
  • Kashif Khan - Senior Director, Project Management Office
  • Shawn Kim - Director of Cybersecurity, Governance, Risk, and Compliance
  • Sriram Krovvidi - Associate Director, Authentication and Collaboration Systems
  • Jan Morrill - UIT Communications Program Manager

ACT Program FAQs

Why are we taking on this multi-year project?

The goal of the project is to make recommendations to solve for the collaboration challenges that exist today, including: ​

  • Siloed environments which require users to maintain multiple identities.
  • Confusion about which accounts to use with what systems.
  • Affiliates purchasing the same licenses for the same users multiple times.
  • Collaboration tools and patient systems fail across organizations. Different security standards make it difficult to work with PHI data.
  • Affiliates spend time maintaining multiple tenants of the same platforms. Complex configurations and maintenance creates different experiences.

What solutions for communication and collaboration will be explored?

Phase 1 of the program is focused on M365 and Azure, defining a core set of collaboration tools across Stanford University and the Stanford hospitals, and improving the security of those environments. Phase 2 focuses on the affiliate Google Workspace and GCP environments to enable deeper collaboration and integration across Stanford Medicine. Phase 3 is about creating a Single Home Identity for all Stanford users, to remove the need for multiple accounts, badges, licenses, etc. for people who work across the organizations that make up Stanford Medicine.

Who can I talk to from my organization to learn more about the program? Who are the points of contact from each affiliate?

Each affiliate has a primary point of contact for discussing the program. This person can help evaluate and on board new projects as needed. These program owners are: ​

  • Stanford University: 
    Joshua Barnett - IT Director, Enterprise Infrastructure Architecture 
     
  • Stanford Health Care: 
    Nancy Hart - IT Program Manager
     
  • Stanford Medicine Children's Health: 
    Katie Evans - Digital Information Solutions (Digi-IS) Program Manager

How long is the program and what has it accomplished so far?

The Affiliate Collaboration Transformation (ACT) program started in 2020, and will run beyond the year 2027. To date, the program has accomplished multiple goals and completed dozens of projects to improve collaboration, strength security, and reduce costs across Stanford Medicine. The below timeline is from October 2024. Items in green are completed projects. Blue items are in-flight projects and red items are planned future projects.​
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