We'll Ensure You're HIPAA Compliant and Protect Your Sensitive PHI
IntermixIT is your trusted partner for comprehensive healthcare IT services. When it comes to IT solutions for healthcare, you face two critical challenges. First, ensuring your organization remains HIPAA compliant. Second, protecting your firm from cybercriminals that routinely target the healthcare sector.
Retaining data privacy that ensures the security of protected healthcare information stands paramount. But challenges abound when it comes to keeping that data safe with constantly evolving technologies like EHR, e-prescriptions, practice management systems, physician order entry, and a host more.
Plus, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) puts an even more significant strain on your IT infrastructure, considering the proliferation of potentially insecure devices connecting to your network.
And then, there are the challenges associated with budget reductions, regulatory and legislative mandates, process changes, and new technology. Needless to say, it puts quite a strain on what for many healthcare providers often includes an outdated IT infrastructure.
5 Challenges Facing the Healthcare Industry
The need for Cybersecurity is obvious. It keeps sensitive information like health records safe from unauthorized use. Unfortunately, the healthcare industry presents a major target for cybercriminals.
Consider:
- The healthcare sector will fall victim to two to three times more cyber-attacks than the average number for other industries.
- 93% of healthcare organizations experienced a data breach over the last three years.
- 57% of those suffering a data breach experience five or more breaches over the last three years.
- Personal health information is 50 times more valuable on the black market than financial information.
So, even if you think you’ve done enough to support cyber security, have you really?
The healthcare industry has been hit hard by budget reductions as well as staff reductions. COVID has certainly played a role.
- Job losses in the healthcare sector are second only to restaurants.
- According to Gartner, over the past four years, 59% of healthcare CIOs reported operating cost pressure. 41% reported shortfalls in funding.
- According to the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), only 35% of executives plan to increase IT budgets over the next 12 months. 27% said they plan to cut their budget.
When global healthcare IT decision makers were surveyed, 90% indicated that their healthcare organizations were either implementing or planning to implement a mobile device initiative. The goal is to improve patient satisfaction and staff productivity. But that initiative raises major concerns about data encryption and HIPAA.
A mobile device management system (MDMS) is required for compliance and administration. A bit more than half of the IT leaders surveyed, however, felt their current MDMS fell short of providing adequate security.
Owing to the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), even medical devices have become mobile. Electronic patient monitors send information to healthcare staff. At the same time, they download and transmit alarms. But because these devices require an internet connection and generally lack security, they leave the door open to hackers.
M&A in healthcare continues to be a driving force as organizations look to achieve scale and operational efficiencies. This activity immediately raises immediate concerns about IT security.
But the activity also creates blind spots within IT networks when disparate networks fail to transmit data correctly. As a result, IT departments lack visibility into what’s happening on the network and how applications are working.
As new technologies become available, other technologies become obsolete. Unfortunately, many facilities still use outdated technology. And that creates vulnerabilities. It also impairs your organizations ability to deliver quality care.
Proactive network updates, security patches, and software updates are required to keep things running smoothly. Those updates have to be made across all devices, including desktop, mobile, and IoT devices.
Keeping Pace with IT Challenges in Healthcare
How can you keep pace with your technology needs?
Managed IT services for healthcare help bridge the gap and save you money. Managed IT can cut your costs by as much as 40%, according to CDW. They can also improve your IT efficiency and reliability, two reasons 56% of businesses turn to managed IT services.
Managed IT support services deliver 24×7, proactive support designed to head off issues before they happen. Here are some areas where they can help. Plus, IT support is provided at a fixed cost to control your budgets.
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Improve Your Cybersecurity
CDW reported that 82% of organizations worldwide cite a shortage of cyber security skills. Managed IT services improve your focus on cyber security. With cost pressures and a shortage of qualified cyber experts, outsourcing all, or some, of your cybersecurity services can be a welcome relief.
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Improve System Availability
By using managed IT services, you’ll see quantifiable gains in system availability, security, and responsiveness. Get proactive monitoring 24x7 to circumvent problems. If an issue arises, you’ll get lightning-fast response (our average issue resolution is 2.5 hours.) A BCDR plan comes with the package. In the event of a disaster, your systems can be restored quickly to get you back in the business of treating patients.
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Compliance Support
Even though HIPAA clearly regulates patients’ health information and privacy, Health and Human Services reported that roughly 70% of providers aren’t HIPAA compliant. Nearly 80% of meaningful use (MU) audits fail. Incomplete risk assessments are part of the problem. Another problem is failing to follow up with information system activities. A managed IT services provider can remove some of the burden from your IT staff to make sure your organization remains compliant.
Get World-Class Managed IT Services for Healthcare
Our IT company consistently ranks among the world’s most elite MSPs for healthcare. So, you know you’ll be working with one of the best managed IT services firms in Central Pennsylvania. We cover Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Lebanon, Carlisle, and Reading.
We also offer co-managed IT services for healthcare that let you focus your budget on one specific area of IT support.
Either way, you’ll get fixed pricing with 24×7 support. You’ll also get fast resolutions to your problems:
You have a lot of challenges in the healthcare industry. The good news is that our company has the IT solutions for healthcare to help.
Improve your IT Support in Just 13 Minutes
Ensure HIPAA compliance and Secure Your PHI with our IT Solutions for Healthcare
Our solutions support healthcare organizations of all types. They allow your staff to work more efficiently while reducing overall patient wait times and boosting patient care. Plus, we’ll make your organization virtually hack-free.