  A substantial administrative burden is placed on healthcare professionals as
they manage and progress through their careers. Identity verification,
pre-employment screening and appraisals: the bureaucracy associated with each
of these processes takes precious time out of a healthcare professional's day.
Time that could have been spent focused on patient care. In the midst of the
COVID-19 crisis, it is more important than ever to optimize these
professionals' time. This paper presents the synthesis of a design workshop
held at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) and subsequent
interviews with healthcare professionals. The main research question posed is
whether these processes can be re-imagined using digital technologies,
specifically Self-Sovereign Identity? A key contribution in the paper is the
development of a set of user-led requirements and design principles for
identity systems used within healthcare. These are then contrasted with the
design principles found in the literature. The results of this study confirm
the need and potential of professionalising identity and credential management
throughout a healthcare professional's career.
