Medical IT Support and Services: Common Challenges or Pain Points
Healthcare practices and business associates face a variety of IT challenges that require specialized IT support and compliance:
Frequent Downtime: Unplanned IT downtime can disrupt patient
scheduling and care delivery, leading to a poor patient experience. Reliable IT
systems are essential to maintain seamless operations.
Data Security Risks: Healthcare practices are high-risk
targets for cyber threats, as they hold sensitive patient data. Without robust
security measures, practices risk exposing this data, facing fines, and losing
patient trust. Breeches can lead to HIPAA violations and fines from the OCR. Click to read about what triggers a HIPAA audit.
Compliance Complexity: Compliance with HIPAA and other
healthcare standards can be challenging and time-consuming. Without specialized
IT support, ensuring regulatory compliance is difficult and may lead to
penalties. Read more about those HIPAA requirements here.
Technical Glitches and System Failures: Recurring IT issues
can impact staff productivity and frustrate patients. Responsive IT support
helps to minimize disruptions and keeps your practice running smoothly.
Rising IT Costs: Managing IT expenses is a priority for any healthcare provider. Proactive IT management prevents unexpected costs by identifying and addressing potential issues early.
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Why Choose Next Century Technologies for Medical HIPAA IT Support?
Business associates too!
Specialized Healthcare IT Expertise: We understand the
unique IT requirements of healthcare practices, from patient data security to
compliance. Our solutions ensure secure, compliant, and reliable systems
designed specifically for medical settings. Our Elite ProCare Managed Services plan is perfect for customers facing HIPAA compliance. Read about it here.
Fast Response Times: Downtime is never an option in
healthcare. Our quick response times minimize disruptions, so your staff and
patients are not affected by technical delays.
Proactive Monitoring and Management: Our 24/7 system
monitoring and proactive IT management detect and address potential issues
before they impact your operations, reducing downtime and enhancing system
reliability.
Cybersecurity and Compliance Focus: We specialize in HIPAA compliance and cybersecurity, providing robust solutions to protect sensitive patient data from cyber threats and breaches. Read about our cybersecurity services here.
Customized IT Solutions: Every healthcare practice has unique needs. We deliver IT solutions tailored to meet your practice's specific requirements, streamlining workflows and maintaining security.
Award-Winning Service: With accolades like Best in Lex and MSP Titan of Industry Finalist, our commitment to high standards of security, efficiency, and customer satisfaction is recognized across the region.
Gaps We Often See in HIPAA Compliance
Lack of risk assessment: All covered entities and business associates are expected to have a risk assessment that updated annually. We can help you do a risk assessment and build out a remediation plan. Read more about risk assessments here.
Lack of policies and procedures: Policies and procedures are hard to write when you don't know where to start. We will give you a set to start with that can be edited to meet your needs.
Hard drive encryption missing: Encrypting hard drives is easy with Windows Pro. However, they don't come encrypted so this has to be turned on and monitored to make sure all computers have it.
IOT objects are a risk: Placing televisions, cameras, appliances on your network (or at home!) can come with some serious vulnerabilities because they are often cheap devices with flimsy security. Properly protecting every computer with endpoint security and a firewall is critical.
Lack of incident response plan: What do you do if you have a security incident? Do you have cyber insurance? if so, what does the policy tell you to do? Do you know when you have to notify the OCR? A lawyer? All these questions and answers go into your incident response plan. Every business needs one. Read more about them here.
Our IT Services
Managed IT Services
Co-Managed IT Services
Designed to complement and enhance your existing IT department. We work closely with your internal team, providing them with additional expertise and resources.
Cybersecurity Services
HIPAA Compliance Services
Data Backup and Recovery
Speaking Engagements & Seminars
FTC Safeguards Compliance Services
We tailor our FTC compliance services to fit your specific industry, operational goals, and risk profile, ensuring a perfect fit for your business.
Here's What Our Clients Are Saying About Our Services
" LOCAL COMPANY WITH EXPERIENCE WE COUNT ON
Finance Administrator, Sturgill Turner Barker & Maloney
" THEY DO THE HEAVY LIFTING, PROVIDE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMMUNICATE WELL
Director of HR, American Health Management
" WORKFLOWS IMPROVED COMPANY-WIDE THANKS TO SYSTEM UPGRADES
IT Manager, Everburn Manufacturing
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About HIPAA and IT Support and Services
What is HIPAA-compliant IT support?
HIPAA-compliant IT support helps healthcare organizations and business associates protect electronic protected health information (ePHI). This includes securing networks, devices, email, cloud systems, backups, user access, and ongoing monitoring to reduce the risk of breaches and support compliance requirements. Next Century Technologies can help.
What is a business associate under HIPAA?
A business associate is a company or vendor that handles protected health information on behalf of a covered entity, such as a healthcare provider, health plan, or clearinghouse. Examples include IT providers, cloud vendors, billing services, transcription companies, and software platforms.
Do business associates need to be HIPAA compliant?
How do you help HIPAA covered entities and business associates protect against cyber threats?
Can you help us with compliance requirements like HIPAA?
What does HIPAA require from an IT security perspective?
HIPAA requires organizations to implement reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect ePHI. Common IT-related requirements include:
- Access controls
- Unique user accounts
- Encryption where appropriate
- Audit logs
- Secure backups
- Risk analysis
- Device and network security
- Incident response procedures
- Workforce security and training
Read more about HIPAA standards.
