5 Ways Managed IT Services Boosts Your Business Growth

the cables are connected to the servers in the server room

More businesses are discovering that managed IT offers an effective alternative to keeping a robust IT department on staff. Even better, business owners have come to realize that using an MSP’s IT services boosts their company’s growth. Take a look at five of the ways that using managed IT services can go the extra mile and improve your business’s outcomes.

What Type of Business Needs Managed IT?

Simply put, small, medium, and large businesses can benefit from managed IT services. Of course, small and medium teams tend to need managed services the most because they have the biggest gaps in IT knowledge on their teams while simultaneously having the smallest budgets to work with to achieve their goals.

Any business that needs specialized outcomes over a short or medium time should seek managed IT services.

How Do I Know My Business Needs Managed IT Services?

The symptoms of a business that needs managed IT services are easy to spot. Consider each of these signs that your company could benefit from an MSP’s services:

  • Your IT workers lack knowledge in an area that is needed for a short-term project (adding servers, configuring security, developing the company website)
  • You can’t count on your hardware to function all the time
  • Your business loses significant amounts of work time due to IT failures
  • You have a short-term IT project to complete that does not necessitate hiring a new team member

These are some of the most prominent signs that your business needs to invest in managed IT services. MSPs that provide IT services give you the flexibility and scalability you need to fix up your existing system or prepare for valuable expansions.

How Managed IT Services Can Boost Business Growth

Using a managed IT provider to help your business is not just about stemming the tide and keeping your head above water for another quarter. These services are an integral tool for helping boost your business’s growth. Here’s how it works.

  1. Faster Response Times

When you have a sudden problem appear in your workplace, you need workers that are familiar with your systems and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Partnering with an MSP for IT provides you with a team of professionals that can act as a disaster response team to get your workplace back to normal.

  1. Instant Scalability

Did you underestimate your manpower needs for a project? No problem. Managed IT services can help you scale up for a short-term project or add more team members when a project starts to get out of hand. When the work is done, so is the billing.

  1. Freeing Up Resources

Do you need your core workers focused on a new internal project rather than typical maintenance and answering Help Desk questions? Then you can bring in the MSP professionals to handle your day-to-day work and free up your team members to work on something new.

  1. Lower Costs in IT Allows for Increases Elsewhere

Why should you hire another worker for IT when you only need a month or two worth of work completed? It’s much simpler and cheaper to bring in a temporary reinforcement so that your business can allocate the rest of their potential salary into another department.

  1. Future-Proof Your Business

Not all workers continue to learn after they settle into a business setting. That attitude can lead to stagnation. If you need IT members to come in and teach your workers some new tricks, then you can simply leverage the MSP workers that stay on the cutting edge.

Each of these reasons can help you see why managed IT services are so important to consider for businesses today.

Now that you know how managed IT services can help your business, you probably want to see how they can help your particular company. Contact us today with a quick call or email, and let us show you how our experts can make an impact on your business.

Our IT professionals can help your business reach the next level and stay competitive no matter the size of your company!

How To Send HIPAA Compliant Email

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How To Send HIPAA Compliant Email

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) set the standard for healthcare providers in protecting sensitive patient data. Any organization that handles protected health information (PHI) must adhere to all applicable physical, network, and process security measures. HIPAA-compliant email solutions and all aspects of email security fall under this category. But HIPAA compliance for email communications (email accounts and email services) is often viewed as a baffling subject matter.

Organizations subject to HIPAA include covered entities (any company that provides treatment, medical practices, payment, or healthcare operations) and business associates (any company with access to PHI that provides support for covered entities). Even subcontractors (i.e. business associates of business associates) must comply with HIPAA secure communications rule. These organizations and entities have to overcome all compliance challenges that may come their way, in order not to breach HIPAA rules.

What is HIPAA compliant email?

In 2000 the HIPAA Privacy Rule created for the first time a set of national standards for safeguarding certain health information. It allows covered entities to disclose PHI to a business associate if it receives assurances that the business associate will use the information only within the scope in which it was engaged by the covered entity.

The HIPAA Security Rule was added in 2003 to set out what safeguards must be in place to protect electronic PHI (ePHI), which is health information that is held or transferred in electronic form.

In regards to email, covered entities are required to take reasonable steps to protect ePHI as it’s transmitted electronically to the recipient’s inbox.

Once the email reaches the recipient, the obligation of the sender ends, and it becomes the recipient’s job to secure any PHI they have in their inbox.

If you are using a third party to transmit or host ePHI, the company is required by law to sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with you. A BAA establishes that certain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards are in place to protect patient data.

While no certification makes an email provider HIPAA compliant, meeting the requirements set by the HIPAA Privacy & Security Rules is the best place to start, along with ensuring strong technical security measures to make sure ePHI is protected inbox to inbox.

 Does HIPAA require email encryption?

The terms “required” and “addressable” are used to describe HIPAA encryption requirements. Encryption protocols labeled as mandatory must be implemented if you want to remain in compliance with HIPAA. If a risk assessment determines that encryption is necessary to protect ePHI, addressable encryption protocols must be implemented.

This decision should be documented and an equivalent solution implemented to protect ePHI if your organization decides encryption is not necessary. Because there is no suitable alternative to encryption for protecting ePHI in an email, it is effectively necessary. Your patients’ information and your organization could be at risk if you don’t encrypt your emails.

 

There are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that your email is HIPAA-compliant:

Ensure you have email encryption (end-to-end encryption) for email

Email is a quick and easy way to communicate electronically for healthcare organizations, but it does not necessarily ensure security nor usually have extra security and compliant technology solutions. Even services that encrypt messages in transit may not have the required level of security to make them HIPAA compliant. To make your email is HIPAA compliant and ensure cloud-based email security, you should ensure you have end-to-end encryption, which encrypts both messages in transit and stored messages. Access controls are used to ensure only the intended recipient and the sender can access the messages.

Some email service providers require individual emails to be encrypted by clicking a button or using a portal. Since it is easy to forget to turn on encryption and accidentally send an unencrypted email, it is a better choice to encrypt all emails, not only those that contain ePHI. This will reduce the potential for human error.

The type of encryption used is also important. While previously Data Encryption Standard (DES) was considered secure, that is no longer the case. You should consult NIST for advice on suitable encryption standards. Currently, AES 128, 192, or AES 256-bit encryption is recommended.

For many HIPAA-covered entities, especially smaller healthcare providers that do not have in-house IT staff to ensure their email is HIPAA-compliant, the use of a third-party HIPAA-compliant email service provider is strongly recommended.

Research potential HIPAA-compliant email service providers to ensure that they provide a service that is suitable for your requirements. A search on Google will produce several potential service providers.

Enter into a HIPAA-compliant business associate agreement with your email provider

In your compliance effort, before using a third-party email service to send ePHI, you should obtain a business associate agreement. As outlined in the business associate agreement, the service provider is responsible for ensuring ePHI’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability through the use of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

You should look for an alternative option if an email service provider or compliant email vendor refuses to sign a business associate agreement as one of the business requirements. To work with HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates, an email service provider should be willing to sign a BAA.

Ensure your email is configured correctly

It is possible to violate HIPAA rules even if a BAA is obtained because of the risks of email. It is not enough to use a BAA-protected email service to ensure that your email is HIPAA compliant, you must ensure that your email is configured correctly and take appropriate compliance security measures.

Develop policies on the use of email and train your staff

Training your staff on the proper use of email concerning ePHI and compliance with regulations is essential after you have implemented your HIPAA-compliant email service. Health care workers, in the busy healthcare environment, have been responsible for several data breaches, including the unintentional transmission of ePHI via email without encryption and the transmission of ePHI to individuals who were not authorized to see the data. Employees must be aware of their HIPAA obligations and trained on how to use the email service to comply with the law.

Ensure all emails are retained

Because email retention is not specifically mentioned in HIPAA legislation, HIPAA’s rules on email retention are a little unclear. Covered entities should maintain an email archive, or at least ensure that emails are backed up and stored because individuals can request information on disclosures of protected health information and email communications may be required when legal action is taken against a healthcare organization. Emails may also be required to be kept for a set period of time under state law. Because of this, you should check the laws governing email in the states where you do business. Consult a lawyer if you’re unsure about anything.

HIPAA requires covered entities to keep documentation related to their compliance efforts for six years, and the retention period for security-related emails and emails relating to privacy policy changes should be six years.

Storage space is required even for small and medium-sized healthcare organizations to store 6 years of emails, including attachments. When it comes time to back up your emails, consider using a secure, encrypted email archive instead. Additionally, since an email archive is indexed, searching for emails in an archive is a quick and easy process. Emails can be quickly and easily retrieved if they are needed for legal discovery or a compliance audit.

To be classified as a business associate under HIPAA, any email archiving service provider will be subject to the same regulations as email service providers. It would be necessary to sign a BAA with that service provider and obtain reasonable assurances that they will abide by HIPAA rules.

Obtain consent from patients before communicating with them via email

HIPAA-covered entities need to remember that even if a HIPAA-compliant email provider is used, the patient’s written consent must be obtained before any ePHI is sent via email, no matter how convenient it may be. Patients should be made aware of the potential dangers of sending confidential information via email. Emails containing electronic health information (ePHI) can be sent if the sender is willing to accept the risks.

Partner with Wheelhouse IT 

You may believe that you can meet the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on your own, and you may be right. A HIPAA-verified Managed Service Provider (MSP) makes it much easier to achieve HIPAA compliance than if you were to do it on your own.

To keep your organization and in-house IT department HIPAA compliant, you can rely on Wheelhouse IT. Some of the benefits of working with us include:

  • Conducting HIPAA security risk assessments
  • Encrypting all PHI and stored data
  • Implementing backup and disaster recovery plans to keep data secure
  • Identifying system vulnerabilities and providing high-quality solutions
  • Providing the necessary technology to ensure data security
  • Providing services such as Remote Monitoring Management (RMM), cloud-to-cloud backup, and authentication and access management 

If you are looking for the assistance of an MSP for your HIPAA compliance needs, call the team at Wheelhouse IT today!

Why Is Technology Important In Healthcare

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Technology has unquestionably altered virtually every facet of our lives. Each of these aspects–including when we wake up with morning alarms, communication methods, how we shop for ingredients for our recipes, and how we travel–has been impacted by the adoption of technology. Technological advances have made life easier for all of us. One area where these advantages have been particularly beneficial is in healthcare (medical technology).

Technology can, and should, play a vital role in health. In fact, when used effectively, technology can become a major driver for health innovation. Some of the reasons why technology is such an important part of healthcare today are:

The efficiency of real-time record accessible at any time

Nearly all medical records are now electronically available via the cloud, secure shared network, and a variety of digital devices, so there’s no need to “check out” the chart from the chart room anymore. It is now possible to act on critical patient data in ways that would have been impossible without EHRs and other platforms’ comprehensive, real-time data along with communication features, safety alerts, reporting capabilities, and remote access.

Significant clinical data for analysis and treatment

Technology generates a large amount of data that can be used in the management of patient care. The Internet is used to automatically update pacemakers and stents. Some gadgets allow patients’ weight and blood glucose levels to be transmitted. Wearables transmit data on one’s sleep and exercise patterns.

There is also an increase in the amount of Big Data being used to produce reports and analytics that look for population trends and gaps in care management. By combining analytics with technology, it is now possible to identify best practices for improving outcomes on both a clinical and economic level. No doubt collecting and integrating all of this data is making it possible to provide patients with better, more individualized care. But until reimbursement, liability, and capacity issues are resolved, the data flood could be a double-edged sword for clinicians.

Improved medication safety

Because of technological advances, clinicians are now warned before prescribing drugs that could interact with one another or to which a patient has an allergic reaction. Technology has replaced books and human memory with automated safeguards that save lives, from CPOE systems (computerized physician order entry) to EHR alerting features.

 Higher quality communication and connectivity

Technology has also made it possible for physicians and care managers to communicate with patients between doctor visits and after hospital discharge. For instance, some apps send automated reminders that ask patients to answer questions after surgery or during healing, and algorithm-driven alerts identify patients at risk for hospital readmission or infection. Patient portals give patients online access to their medical records and medication histories and provide features such as registration, online scheduling, and bill payment. And telehealth platforms allow clinicians to conduct post-op visits, follow up after hospital discharge, or discuss medication adherence issues, all without requiring the patient to come into the office – a significant advantage for patients who have mobility or cognitive issues, or who live in rural areas.

The importance of the use of technology in the health industry

Some of the ways technology has impacted healthcare include:

Electronic Health Record Software

As medical technology improves, hospitals are turning to electronic health records to centralize patient information, ensure accurate patient records, and access to health information, as a result of the complexity of health information. These EHR programs make it easier for doctors to share patient data and an array of health information.

In the delivery of health information, patients can, for example, access their health records from home using electronic health record software. People can use these tools to find out what prescriptions, in the various aspects of patient care, they need to fill or if a doctor’s visit is necessary, enhancing comprehensive medication management.

Telemedicine

Many health organizations are starting to use telemedicine to improve adaptive health care system now that it is becoming more widely accepted. It’s already being used by a few health tech firms. Patients in remote areas can now use apps to communicate with doctors or specialists in other countries, making accessibility of treatment easier in clinical processes. Real-time video calls between these medical professionals are possible thanks to the Internet.

In other cases, health care providers can conduct examinations and issue medication prescriptions over the internet. Health centers will be able to offer more services without having to hire more staff if they use this type of technology. Because of this, they will be able to continue serving rural communities around the world with healthcare.

Big data In healthcare

Big data refers to complex and large data sets that have to be carefully processed and analyzed to identify valuable information that can help form future policies and streamline processes. Concerning the healthcare industry, big data can help in the following ways:

  • Better hospital staffing – Big data can study the current hospital admission rate and help the administration identify possible future admission rates (based on past data). Depending on the information, it can also highlight which facility might face the maximum admission allowing the hospital to better prepare and allocate ample staff and resources to manage all the patients. This reduces the emergency room wait times, saves money, and improves the overall quality of care.
  • Fewer medication-related errors – By studying patient records and medical history, big data can analyze inconsistencies in the level of care and flag any error or gap that’s coming between drug prescriptions and patient’s health in the medical field. It can alert the doctors in advance to the patient history if there is a potential risk of a medication error, as well as other medical errors. For example, if a certain kind of medication is causing adverse effects in diabetic patients, big data analysis can highlight this human error so it can be avoided.
  • Fostering preventive care – Often a large percentage of people coming to the emergency room are recurring patients (also known as “frequent flyers”). Big data can identify this section of patients and help the staff create preventive plans to keep them from coming regularly.

Wearable medical devices

As of 2017, the global wearable medical device market had a value of USD 7,859.4 million. By 2023, the market is expected to reach USD 27,255.6.

Once upon a time, having a physical exam once a year was considered sufficient. Patients would only visit the doctor in the event of an emergency. Patients, on the other hand, are more concerned with prevention and maintenance than damage control in today’s information and technology-driven world. They expect more frequent access to up-to-date information about their health.

As a result of increased demand, new ideas begin to emerge. The healthcare industry is now taking a proactive approach by investing in wearable technology that can provide patients with up-to-date data on their health and alert them well in advance of a major health event.

. Some of these include:

  • Exercise trackers
  • Calorie trackers
  • Heart rate sensors
  • Sweat meters – mostly used by diabetics to monitor their blood sugar levels.
  • Oximeters – monitors the amount of oxygen carried in the blood. This came in handy during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. It’s mostly used by people with respiratory illnesses.

Investing in these smart wearable devices can offer various benefits to the healthcare organizations such as: 

  • Some fitness trackers gamify the whole experience of staying fit by adding goals and awards that you win when you complete a certain activity. This encourages users to be mindful of their diet, nutrition, and exercise.
  • These devices put the patient’s health into their own hands. They feel a sense of ownership and responsibility to track and improve their health.
  • Information obtained from a wearable device can help insurers rate a patient’s risk for illness more accurately.

Chatbots

Chatbots are artificially intelligent devices that communicate with you (AI). Customer service and marketing campaigns already make use of these devices today. Health tech firms are now using them as well. Asthmapolis, for example, is a mobile app for asthma sufferers. People with asthma who forget to take their medicine will be reminded by this chatbot-enabled app. This aids patients in achieving their wellness objectives.

In addition, hospitals can better track patient health information with it, without having to hire more medical professionals.

 Health tech industry jobs and careers

The health industry employs thousands of individuals who work on health tech products every day. Health organizations and healthcare practitioners also employ health care workers who provide health services for patients. With so many health tech jobs available, it’s easier now than ever to enter the health industry and contribute to this growing field.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in health

Using artificial intelligence (AI) in the medical field has already helped diagnose cancer, heart disease, and lung neoplasms. In fact, the FDA has given the green light to an AI program that aids doctors in their diagnostic process. As a result of this technology, human subjectivity is reduced, and patients’ health problems are more easily identified.

Studies have shown, for example, that radiologists are only 50% accurate when it comes to reading mammography reports. Additionally, they only read about 10 slides each day on top of all of the other demands. As a result, their work is boring and monotonous, and they have no motivation to do it.

It’s understandable why so many experts think AI will have a positive impact on healthcare. In fact, healthcare is one of the most likely industries to be disrupted by AI, according to health experts. And this is because health care is a multifaceted subject with numerous untapped potentials.

 

The role of information technology in healthcare is rapidly evolving. As a whole, technology has revolutionized healthcare. Moreover, this transformation is expected to continue for many more years. Healthcare is about to undergo major changes thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as deep learning, blockchain, healthcare mobile apps and wearables. There is no limit to how far technology can go in healthcare as long as healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals keep their minds open and create the necessary infrastructure and systems.

A stable and adaptable healthcare technology is the bedrock on which IT services for the healthcare sector are built. With our managed IT services from Wheelhouse IT, your business can meet today’s needs while also preparing for the possibilities of the future — and save money in the process.

Healthcare providers of all sizes have benefited from scalable technological solutions that have allowed them to incorporate new technologies into their operations. For instance, without a reliable network, electronic health records, electronic billing, and comprehensive staff management systems cannot operate. Slow and unreliable networks hamper operation in the healthcare environment.

Technology integration in healthcare isn’t only a means of complying with new regulations. Technological services are helping facilities compete more effectively in their markets. Doing more with fewer resources is the new normal for them. It has resulted in better patient outcomes and fewer errors as a result of better use of their staff’s time. Using data-driven, collaborative processes, they’re finding new avenues.

Partner with Wheelhouse IT 

Partnership with an IT service provider can help you meet your current needs while laying the groundwork for the ever-changing role of technology in in the healthcare industry. 

At Wheelhouse IT, we can resolve all of your IT issues and bring your systems back to full operation.  Even further, we’re well-positioned to help with HIPAA compliance issues, disaster recovery, and loss prevention. The effective operation of your facility depends on your technology and network. Our solutions will keep your data backed-up, private, and secure, even when the unexpected happens.

 

5 Ways Law Firms Can Better Protect Their Data

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Law firms have access to vast amounts of confidential data from their clients, making law firm data security crucial. Unfortunately, some law firms are operated by more traditional, less tech-savvy individuals who lack the knowledge of modern security requirements and threats.

Fortunately, law firms can take some simple steps that will help them better protect their data without overhauling their entire process.

Consider the following five methods for protecting confidential data.

1. Train Employees to Counter Threats

Law firms’ employees are the first line of defense against security threats. Yet, your law firm’s security is only as good as the training workers have received to counter threats to your systems. A frequent means of ingress for hackers and malware is through phishing emails.

Your workers must learn basic office security measures like how to identify a phishing attempt, how to secure their workstation before leaving, and to avoid plugging in random USB or other storage devices they find around the office. Along with additional training, your employees can prevent themselves from becoming victims to the most common threats.

2. Make Sure You’re Using Multifactor Authentication for Apps and Emails

Damage mitigation is an essential aspect of law firm security, too. Essentially, you want to limit what someone can do with small yet valuable bits of data that are relatively easy to obtain. For example, if someone gets access to an email address, they could try to access your company’s applications with it.

By enabling multifactor authentication on your systems, you can thwart most attempts at gaining access in this manner. After all, even if they have an email and a password, they’ll still need access to the user’s phone or biometrics to access an adequately secured program in your office.

3. Limit Your Guest WiFi

Most law firms with a waiting room for clients offer to share their WiFi by providing a password to their clients. Although WiFi is a nice amenity to offer, it also puts you at risk.

If you allow guests onto your law firm’s WiFi, they could access other devices on the network or create and exploit vulnerabilities for malware. Limit your guest WiFi systems and separate them from the WiFi used by your employees to be safe.

4. Consider Implementing Managed Security Services

Not all law firms have IT services on staff, which can leave them vulnerable if they don’t perform timely system updates or have someone available to counter an incursion. Some firms are too small to keep IT workers on the payroll. Sadly, that does not mean that they are less likely to be attacked by hackers than larger law firms.

An excellent approach to this situation is to get a managed services provider (MSP) to implement IT security, provide training, and update your law firm’s systems without having to employ them long-term. MSPs can implement protections that will make a law firm more secure and a less-likely target for criminals.

5. Follow a Proper Data Storage Plan

Although it may feel like modern computers are infallible compared to the systems of the past, hard drives failures, ransomware, and simple storage devices losses are still vulnerabilities for law firms that keep a single copy of valuable data.

A better storage philosophy to abide by is the 3-2-1 policy. Essentially an employee will:

  • Create three copies of important data
  • Use two different forms of media to store the data (Hard drive, USB, external hard drive, cloud)
  • Keep one copy of the data off-site for data recovery (safes or shadow)

This storage plan can ensure a law firm has much better protection for its data and a means to bounce back in the event of a disaster.

Law firms have too much important data to lack a necessary form of security in their offices. Each of the methods mentioned here should be considered or implemented depending upon the existing security state within one’s law offices.

Remember, your business is never too small to benefit from the help of security professionals, and in the case of security, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Learn more about law firm data security and determine if your data is truly secure with a free risk assessment from WheelHouse IT!