The Healthcare Industry Benefits From Managed IT Services
To provide optimal care to patients, a successful healthcare provider requires quick access to accurate information. Over the past two decades, the digitization of healthcare data has vastly increased the scope and capabilities of care providers. For example, digitization has not only streamlined processes like records management and billing, it also has allowed collaboration between team members working remotely.
With the increasing number responsibilities placed on IT in the healthcare industry, many healthcare providers are partnering with managed IT service providers and IT consultants to help guide purchasing decisions, migrate data to the cloud, and protect sensitive data from cybercrime.
Let’s look at a few key areas where a managed IT services provider can help your organization.
24/7 Network Monitoring
Whether you manage a clinical care facility, a lab, or a hospital pharmacy, your organization depends on an uninterrupted flow of accurate, reliable information. Even brief interruptions or downtimes can result in costly delays that could impact the health of the patients.
By partnering with an experienced managed IT services provider, you’ll gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing your network is being monitored 24/7/365. And if a problem does arise, you know you’ll be notified immediately and that any issue will be addressed by a skilled team of information management professionals.
Cybersecurity For Healthcare
Cybercrime is on the rise, and healthcare organizations are by no means immune. Healthcare providers depend on access to personal patient information to guide care decisions. Any breach not only compromises sensitive data (such as billing information), it also threatens to hurt the reputation of your organization. An IT consultant can help you evaluate the current status of your cybersecurity protocols, guide purchasing decisions to reduce wasteful spending, and implement added layers of security to keep private data private. A consultant is also a great resource both in developing a business continuity plan as well as in providing rapid data recovery and network restoration in the event of a catastrophic data loss.
Data Migration
An increasing number of healthcare institutions are moving vast amounts of data to the cloud for storage and easy retrieval. But data migration projects can be time consuming and can pull your in-house IT team away from more core tasks of managing the day-to-day challenges of your institution. An experienced managed IT services provider can shoulder the burden of data migration tasks, provide progress reports, and troubleshoot any problems they encounter - all without drawing your in-house IT staff from their core responsibilities.
Regulatory Compliance
For any healthcare organization, compliance with federal, state, and local regulations is essential. These regulations may govern anything from data privacy (HIPAA) and how electronic data are shared (HITECH) to care access (ACA) and disaster preparation (NIMS). Staying current with all these regulations, while preserving the confidentiality of essential information can push even a skilled in-house IT team to its limits.
An IT consultant can help by reviewing your institution’s compliance, updating you on regulatory changes, and preparing your staff to meet any new demands attendant to these regulations. Partnering with a consultant also helps your organization avoid potentially costly fines and catch-up costs in brining your systems up to code.
Connectivity
Technology has allowed teams of medical professionals to collaborate over vast distances. But this kind of connectivity depends on the reliability and security of your network. With care team members accessing information from a range of devices - including tablets and smartphones - the importance of protecting sensitive data while in transit cannot be understated. Also, team members working remotely need seamless connectivity free from interruption or poor network performance. An IT consultant can review your current systems, identify potential vulnerabilities, and suggest cost-effective improvements to enhance both connectivity and security.
Healthcare Data Loss Prevention & Recovery Is Extremely Important
Few of us want to consider the potential damage of a catastrophic data breach or data loss. But only by having a disaster plan in place can you be sure that a data loss won’t cripple your institution’s ability to function. An experienced IT consultant can help you implement a disaster plan, install added data security protocols, assist in cloud migration, and, in the event of a breach or loss, quickly recover any lost data so your institution can continue to provide top quality care to your patients.
At Iconic Technologies, we specialize in helping healthcare and other companies maintain the integrity of their networks, migrate vital data to the cloud, boost connectivity between workers, and ensure that private data stay private—all of which frees your in-house IT staff to focus on the daily demands of your institution. Contact us today, and discover what Iconic Technologies can do for you.
