As a healthcare provider, you understand the importance of compliance. However, challenges you likely face, from ensuring cybersecurity to getting your arms around “big data,” can make ongoing compliance management a struggle. Furthermore, pandemic-driven shifts to new operating models such as telehealth can consume even more of your time and budget.
If you’re like most healthcare providers, privacy, security and being HIPAA compliant are some of your top priorities for 2022. Yet, you don’t necessarily have the resources to address these concerns.
A 2022 Healthcare Compliance Benchmark Survey confirms this predicament, noting that achieving these goals is one of the top five 2022 risk priorities among surveyed healthcare providers. Yet, half of respondents indicated their Compliance Office resources were remaining at the 2021 level. Additionally, 70% reported having recent encounters with enforcement agencies, suggesting that the majority of healthcare providers may eventually experience such an event.
While compliance is a necessity given both government and patient expectations, the reality is that maintaining a healthcare compliance program in budget- and staff-strapped organizations can become onerous. This quandary becomes increasingly complicated when providers realize that the time and cost of compliance could negatively impact the patient experience or even the quality of patient care.
What You Should Look for — and What Your Patients Deserve
Fortunately, healthcare industry firms don’t have to manage these issues alone. Working with a seasoned IT service provider that offers a comprehensive healthcare technology solution set, providers can focus on what really matters — quality of patient care.
At a minimum, the solution set should include Managed IT and Managed Security services for healthcare, but it shouldn’t stop there. It should also feature scalable, security-first, highly compliant storage, application hosting and support for electronic health records/electronic medical records (EHR and EMR), and more.
To streamline provider interactions, the firm preferably would offer a highly skilled and certified single point of contact for management. This approach to services offers healthcare providers the reassurance they need to focus on patient care. If the provider offers 24/7 onsite healthcare technology support, the solution can also reduce costs.
As a final consideration, the U.S. Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Justice are both on record noting that an effective compliance program can be a mitigating factor when assessing culpability in lawsuits and other actions.
When healthcare firms’ technology solutions and services are orchestrated by a third-party Managed IT firm, staff at all levels can focus on core tasks confidently. Leadership will benefit from the peace of mind that comes from knowing all aspects of their IT, from their data center to disaster recovery and managed services, are being administered in a professional andcost-effective manner.
Clients for whom IT Solutions provides these services have told us that our work with them has also resulted in greater operational efficiencies for their firm. To explore more possibilities regarding your company’s needs and how IT Solutions can support them, we invite you to call 866.PICK.ITS (1.866.742.5487) and request a complimentary consultation.
We’ve got answers — fast, clear, and tailored to your needs. Let’s talk tech.
