With no margin of error when serving patients and securing their sensitive data, an exceptional level of IT Support is needed for healthcare businesses. This article describes six main benefits that outsourced IT Support will provide for your healthcare company.
More accurate and secure patient records
In an increasingly complex medical environment with sensitive information shared across different networks, your healthcare business should have no higher priority than keeping patient medical and financial information accurate and secure. Because of the massive volume of sensitive data generated in this industry, cybercriminals have increasingly targeted healthcare companies. For example, according to a McAfee analysis, the medical industry has recently experienced a 67% rise in malware.
A skilled IT Support partner will ensure that your company’s network is protected with the latest cybersecurity tools and that your staff is trained in good cyber hygiene.
In addition, your IT partner will enable your company to effectively conduct your medical coding and billing activities with the best tools and processes. They will also monitor and update your electronic health records (EHR) and other systems to make sure they run smoothly, and they will ensure that your data is backed up in the event of cyberattacks or natural disasters.
Enhanced staff efficiency and productivity
An IT MSP will help your organization perform critical IT functions such as database administration as well as help desk and network support. They will advise your company on the latest IT applications for the medical industry and will implement and maintain these tools. When your IT functions are running smoothly, your staff will be less stressed and more productive. With a reliable IT managed service provider (MSP) making administrative and routine tasks more efficient and streamlining other tasks, your company will be able to devote additional staff time and financial resources to your core business: serving patients.
Reduced infrastructure and personnel costs
Through outsourcing your IT Support, your medical company will be able to save on overhead and HR costs and focus your resources on hiring, training, and retaining skilled personnel in critical functions. Your organization will also be able to track your IT budget more accurately and not be concerned with unplanned IT expenditures. With your company’s operations outsourced or streamlined and a reduced or eliminated IT staff, your organization’s bottom line will improve.
Ensured compliance with healthcare industry standards
Healthcare companies face strict compliance requirements primarily because of their handling of personal health information (PHI). The two most important standards your healthcare firm must follow are HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and HITECH (the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act). HIPAA was passed in 1996 to improve the nation’s health care system by mandating the standards-based implementation of security controls by all health care entities that create, store, or transmit health information. Since 2009, HITECH has required healthcare organizations and business associates to apply “meaningful use” of security technology to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected personal data.
The detailed requirements for HIPAA and HITECH are managed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and enforced through regular audits, which can result in penalties from $50K to $1.5 million per calendar year for non-compliance and criminal prosecution in some cases. Notably, ignorance of the law is not considered a valid defense in non-compliance cases.
Your IT Support partner will keep your healthcare company compliant as these standards evolve, and they will protect your organization from facing any fines or legal repercussions from non-compliance.
Improved communication and data sharing
Since healthcare organizations are mandated to use EHR systems to improve medical treatment, a stated but elusive industry goal has been to achieve integrated communication among healthcare professionals. Companies have faced difficulty finding technology infrastructure that can retrieve, store, analyze, and share medical and personal information among a wide variety of healthcare businesses. These companies use different tools, systems, and processes, which are difficult to coordinate. A lack of integrated communication negatively impacts all aspects of healthcare delivery and increases the risk of data breaches.
An IT MSP will help your organization find and implement the advanced hardware and software communication tools that will meet this challenge. Your IT partner will offer options on installing secure and effective systems that will effectively standardize and integrate communication methods and keep patient data secure.
Convenient access to the latest technology
An IT MSP will enable your organization to have access to the most sophisticated business technology at the lowest cost. Your healthcare firm will reap the benefits from these valuable applications without having to pay for licenses or worry about upgrades and updates. In addition, your company can rest easy knowing that your IT Support partner is constantly evaluating innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to determine how they can help your healthcare company.
Find a Proven IT Support Partner
In order to realize the benefits described above, we recommend your healthcare business carefully choose a trusted IT Support partner, like Network Depot. Your IT partner should have a proven record of successfully serving diverse healthcare clients.
Your experienced IT partner will have the expertise to recommend and implement the latest IT tools that will make your company more efficient and keep you in compliance with medical industry standards. Your outsourced IT Support provider will also ensure that your patients’ sensitive personal information is safe from hackers and that your internal and external communication methods are both effective and secure.
With the help of a dependable IT Support partner and the right IT tools and processes, your healthcare business will be able to optimally serve your patients and meet your unique objectives.