The landscape of healthcare IT becomes more complex every day. From managing tasks in electronic medical records to cybersecurity, it’s more than the typical “IT person” can do alone. And that’s not even considering staying HIPAA-compliant. It’s no surprise that more and more healthcare providers are outsourcing these tasks to healthcare-managed IT services.
When choosing an IT provider for healthcare systems, It’s important to consider their technical capabilities, HIPAA compliance, and helpdesk support. Managed IT services for healthcare provide third-party support for healthcare systems. They help improve patient care, upgrade cloud efficiency, provide backup and disaster recovery, and much more.
What Are Healthcare IT Managed Services?
Healthcare IT MSPs (managed service providers) provide outsourced support and management for a healthcare organization’s information technology infrastructure and systems. They offer a wide range of services tailored to meet healthcare providers’ specific needs and regulatory requirements.
Popular services offered by many healthcare IT managed services include:
- Infrastructure management
- Cybersecurity
- Data backup and recovery
- IT strategy and planning
Healthcare IT MSP helps your organization from the bottom up. Infrastructure management is foundational to your present and ongoing business. Healthcare IT MSPs can manage your hardware and network infrastructure including internet routers, servers, storage, and networking equipment.
Cybersecurity is only going to become more critical as time goes on. Healthcare cyberattacks were up 74% in 2022, averaging 1,463 cyberattacks per week globally. Healthcare IT managed services focus on protecting patient data and your organization’s IT infrastructure from ransomware attacks, data breaches, and other security threats.
Data backup and recovery are essential features for any healthcare IT MSP. Disasters come in many forms, including power outages and system crashes. With data backup and recovery, you can reset your system before the issues occur. This allows your organization to work with the most up-to-date information as quickly as possible.
Experienced healthcare IT MPSs can take your organization to the next level with expert IT strategy and planning. When you partner with TenHats, we’ll discuss how your IT infrastructure aligns with your long-term business objectives so that you make the right strategic investments in new software and upgraded hardware.
How Do MSPs Help Healthcare Providers?
Healthcare IT managed services improve patient care and can even be the difference between life and death. These services also leverage cloud platforms to reduce on-site costs, enable seamless data sharing, and enhance operational efficiency. Robust backup and recovery systems ensure uninterrupted care delivery, protecting patient information and vital operations.
Improve Patient Care
Healthcare IT managed services improve patient care by streamlining and optimizing technology systems. They implement electronic health records (EHR) for:
- Accessing patient data
- Reducing errors
- Improving treatment decisions
MSPs ensure network security and compliance, safeguarding patient information from breaches. They also deploy telemedicine solutions, enabling remote consultations for convenient and timely care. Providers maintain and update medical devices, ensuring they function efficiently, and minimizing disruptions in care delivery.
Additionally, they implement data analytics tools, enabling healthcare providers to gain insights from large datasets, leading to better treatment plans and outcomes. By managing IT infrastructure, MSPs allow healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care and less on technical issues. This ultimately improves the overall quality and efficiency of health services.
Upgrade Cloud Efficiency
IT MSPs for healthcare leverage cloud environments to enhance efficiency. To do this, they migrate and manage your health organization’s data and applications on scalable, secure platforms. This reduces on-site infrastructure costs and provides remote access to essential resources.
Cloud-based solutions enable seamless data sharing among healthcare providers, ensuring swift decision-making and patient care coordination. This streamlined approach:
- Optimizes operations
- Promotes collaboration
- Enhances overall efficiency
Additionally, MSPs employ advanced security measures, ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations and safeguarding sensitive patient information.
Provide Backup and Disaster Recovery
Time is of the essence in healthcare, and downtime isn’t an option. IT disruptions can affect everything from scheduling appointments to compromising patient care and safety. This makes it critical to have robust backup and recovery systems in place.
Unlike many IT service providers, TenHats has an on-site colocation data center. When you host your data with us, our fully redundant systems protect against outages to guarantee maximum uptime.
Explore how a data center disaster recovery plan can save your business.
What to Look for in an IT Provider for Healthcare Systems
There are a few important things to keep in mind when looking for an IT MSP in healthcare. MSPs make sure that their technical capabilities support your needs, whether it’s their ticketing system or security measures. HIPAA compliance is essential for healthcare organizations and any MSP they consider working with.
Technical Capabilities
An experienced healthcare IT MSP should possess robust ticketing systems for issue tracking and demonstrate swift responsiveness to support tickets. They should also maintain a secure, organized document repository for critical data management. Advanced security tools, including firewalls, are essential in safeguarding sensitive healthcare information.
Additionally, adept management of secure cloud storage solutions is crucial. It provides seamless access to vital resources while ensuring compliance with industry regulations and data protection standards. With TenHats, you get an IT partner who can tackle anything from the toughest problem to the smallest inconvenience.
HIPAA Compliance
HIPAA compliance is crucial for IT computing because it safeguards personal health information. Non-compliance can not only lead to security breaches but also severe financial penalties and legal repercussions.
Adhering to HIPAA standards in IT infrastructure establishes trust between patients and healthcare providers. This is foundational for fostering a secure and confidential healthcare environment.
At TenHats, we’re well aware of how the HIPAA privacy rule affects healthcare computing. We work closely with you to ensure your data storage meets every requirement.
24/7 Helpdesk
Healthcare operations run around the clock making 24/7 IT support from healthcare MSPs crucial. Patients rely on continuous access to critical services, and any IT downtime can jeopardize their well-being.
24/7 emergency IT assistance ensures:
- Uninterrupted patient care
- Minimal downtime
- Safeguards for sensitive data
Problems still happen even with the most advanced technology. Issues with logging in and problems due to Bluetooth or wifi can make a hectic day even worse. That’s why TenHats provides 24/7 helpdesk support to healthcare staff for IT-related issues, from troubleshooting software problems to assisting with password resets.
Healthcare Experience and Expertise
Healthcare experience and expertise are crucial in IT MSPs. The healthcare sector operates within a complex regulatory environment. Critical life support systems and electronic health records require intricate knowledge to implement, integrate, and maintain effectively.
Additionally, healthcare providers often have unique IT needs and face specific challenges, such as telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. When dealing with such sensitive information, having your own private cloud can help keep data secure. TenHats can help set up a private cloud environment for your practice.
TenHats has the experience to bring insight and clarity to these complexities. We provide seamless technology solutions that prioritize:
- Security
- Confidentiality
- Operational efficiency
Our familiarity with the healthcare industry’s nuances also means we can proactively anticipate and address potential issues. This helps us minimize downtime and safeguard the continuity of care.
Advantages of Integrating Data Storage with IT Services
Integrating data storage with IT services offers numerous benefits for healthcare organizations. To start, it ensures seamless access and retrieval of critical information, enhancing operational efficiency.
Moreover, having data storage and IT services under one roof streamlines troubleshooting and maintenance, reducing downtime and minimizing disruptions to patient care. It also means that you only have to call one person if you have a problem since your IT team is your data center representative.
With this cohesive approach, TenHats also optimizes cost-effectiveness, as our data center eliminates the need for separate contracts and vendors. Ultimately, this integrated model fosters a reliable, compliant, and efficient IT infrastructure, allowing healthcare providers to focus on their primary goal—delivering high-quality patient care.
Get a free quote on our MSP services today!
Selecting a healthcare IT MSP to partner with is a major decision. It’s crucial to evaluate their technical proficiency, adherence to HIPAA regulations, as well as their depth of experience and expertise. Healthcare IT managed services offer outsourced assistance to healthcare systems to enhance patient care, optimize cloud operations, ensure robust backup and disaster recovery, and more.
Located in Knoxville, TN, our purpose-built colocation data center can serve any organization in East Tennessee and beyond. With our team’s IT experience, we provide a lot more than great technology. When you call us, you talk to a real IT expert. Connect with our team about our MSP services today!
