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An IT service company can offer specialized advice that is unique to the technological aspect of your business. Whether it’s managing computer networks, upgrading your office network ,or bolstering cybersecurity defenses, there are countless ways to improve the technology in your business to create a more efficient operation. However, it takes a knowledgeable IT service company that specializes in the healthcare industry in order to take full advantage of healthcare-centric technologies and work processes.
In this article, we’re going to offer five different signs that your medical office is in dire need of help from an IT service company that specializes in the healthcare industry.
1. You don’t have a cybersecurity plan
Cybersecurity is a huge concern for all businesses, but when it comes to safeguarding confidential patient data, it’s an even bigger concern that comes with serious risks and consequences if you’re not careful with how you handle the data coming into your medical office. If you ignore these concerns, it could bring down your business in just a couple of hours and you’ll be facing more than just monetary losses. Your entire business could collapse and you might even be found guilty of negligence if the cybersecurity breach is particularly severe.
Some of the most basic cybersecurity threats include ransomware, phishing, viruses and malware. Here’s a brief explanation of these cybersecurity challenges:
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that is designed to block access to your computer until you comply with the software’s demands. In most cases, this is a demand for money. Once the money is paid, the victim is given a key code to unlock the ransomware software so that it disappears and returns your files. There are millions of ransomware attacks every day and they can cost businesses a lot of money and time.
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that is designed to steal a victim’s data by pretending to be an entity of higher authority or a friend of the victim. This usually involves tricking the victim into believing that the attacker is someone they are not and using this authority or trust to steal their data. Phishing can happen through interactions via falsified emails and websites that the victim is fooled by.
Viruses are a form of malicious software that often replicates itself by modifying other software on your computer, eventually spreading and becoming incredibly difficult to eliminate. These viruses can do everything from stealing your data to being a pain and preventing access to your files.
Malware is a general term used to describe any software that is being intentionally malicious. This can include the viruses, ransomware and phishing programs mentioned above. They can be used to attack an individual victim or spread around networks to affect multiple people in your medical office.
Every modern medical office needs to have a sophisticated cybersecurity plan in order to safeguard their company from these threats. Should data be leaked, stolen or tampered with, it can cost a medical office a lot of money and reduce public trust. In order to become truly HIPAA compliant and protect your business from cybersecurity threats, it’s important to speak with an IT service company specialized in healthcare to help you build the right strategy that can safeguard your data.
2. Troubleshooting your technology is getting in the way of running your practice
Medical offices use a variety of different technologies in order to stay productive and efficient. However, technology is always prone to errors and whether it’s a software fault or a hardware failure, everything has a chance to break and must be maintained on a regular basis to ensure it runs smoothly and efficiently.
Unfortunately, the task of maintaining technologies and fixing issues are often down to either the medical office or any IT staff members. Sadly, this can eat into your productivity and could result in poor services being offered by your staff. The goal of an IT company is to help make managing your business’s IT solutions easier, hence why they can make a huge difference in the overall effectiveness and efficiency of your medical office.
IT service companies that specialize in healthcare solutions and challenges can help relieve you of these responsibilities so that you can focus on building a better medical practice instead of worrying too much about how your computers and software are operating. This gives you more time to focus on your patients and improve service instead of maintaining your technology.
3. Your IT staff member is being overwhelmed
As your company grows, you’re going to need more staff members to help you manage your technology solutions. A single staff member isn’t going to be enough to manage your network, configure new software, and troubleshoot issues. No matter how experienced or professional they may be, they cannot possibly handle the needs of a growing medical office all by themselves.
However, instead of hiring more and more employees, it’s often more efficient to simply hire medical IT service providers that understand your needs. This can help you relieve some of the burdens from your single IT staff member so that they’re not working overtime or constantly stressed with multiple requests or support tickets from other employees. You could gain a fully-staffed and professional team of IT support technicians for the price of a single full-time employee.
4. You’re outgrowing your network infrastructure
As mentioned above, it’s important to have more IT support staff as your business grows, but it takes more than just a knowledgeable IT technician to help accommodate the growth of your medical office. As your business grows, you’re going to need a team of IT professionals that can oversee your IT strategy and ensure that aligns with the goals of your growing medical group.
By hiring a professional healthcare-focused IT service, you’ll be given useful advice and recommendations on how to manage the growth of your medical office with the help of a stable and efficient office network that can ensure that your employees are operating as productively as possible. If you feel like there are just far too many users on your network or that it’s growing slower by the day, then networking professionals that understand the challenges of a medical office will become vital for your growth.
5. You don’t have an IT strategy in place
At the end of the day, every medical office needs to have some kind of IT strategy in place to help them grow their company. Without a plan in place that helps to outline how you should be using new technologies, you won’t see the growth that your business deserves. By utilizing the latest technological solutions, you not only offer an exceptional experience to your patients, but you guarantee that their trust in you isn’t misplaced with efficient and sturdy cybersecurity measures that will safeguard your business.
IT companies know the tools and processes that are available to help you establish an IT strategy, but a healthcare-centric IT company will understand how to apply industry-standard tools to help your business grow as a medical office and not just a generic office. By keeping up with all of the latest technological processes and tools available, you stand a much better chance of growing your medical office when you’re backed by talented and knowledgeable IT staff that can help you reach your goals of optimized efficiency and productivity through technological solutions.
Hopefully, this post has explained the importance of hiring an IT company that specializes in healthcare IT services. While it’s always possible to hire any IT-focused company to give you advice, it’s always more desirable to hire a company that has experience in the healthcare industry and is well-versed in the challenges that a medical office faces on a daily basis.
