An audit log records meaningful events in a portal: logins, sensitive record access, document downloads, permission changes, exports, and administrative actions. Logs should be tamper-resistant, access-controlled, searchable, exportable, and retained according to the organization’s legal and operational requirements.
If you can’t answer “who accessed Patient X’s record in the last 90 days?” from your audit log, your audit controls are insufficient. Real audit logging is one of the strongest signals separating mature portals from immature ones.
Each event should capture the actor, tenant, action, target, outcome, timestamp, and relevant request context. Avoid placing secrets or unnecessary personal data in log payloads. Test that a tenant administrator cannot query another tenant’s activity.
See Secure Client Portal.