What Is An MSSP In Healthcare?
Overview:
As technology expands at an ever-increasing rate, it makes sense that health care would become increasingly digital. MSSP stands for Managed Security Service Provider, and while this may sound like a technical term, MSSPs are actually the foundation of the modern approach to remote healthcare. These MSSPs are responsible for providing help desk services to the many remote offices of hospitals and related health care facilities, creating layers of convenience for staff who would otherwise be without support.
Implication:
Consider the implications if your doctor had no access to diagnostics or other vital service providers. This is why more physicians are choosing managed security service providers over the traditional on-site help desk; critical infrastructure can be managed remotely, providing an unmatched level of security that simply isn’t possible with a local team alone. The IT world has seen this approach to IT services before in some instances, especially when it comes to things like VOIP services (think Vonage) which rely on outside assistance for all but the simplest installations and updates.
The only difference here is that unlike the standard consumer-grade applications found in virtually every home, health care represents an industry that is mandated to follow HIPAA guidelines when it comes to the sensitive data being handled. So while customers in other fields are left to fend for themselves when it comes to security, professionals in the medical field are able to rely on third-party experts who can lend their expertise towards protecting records that could quickly turn into evidence if mishandled.
The MSSP Model For Remote Healthcare:
Remote healthcare is becoming more of a necessity these days, which is why healthcare facilities will go to great lengths (and expense) for systems that allow them direct access to patient information without having to work through another party. There’s little doubt about this premise; doctors and nurses who need instant access to diagnostics or treatment information can’t afford to wait for records, even if the situation only calls for a preliminary diagnosis.
The need for remote access to patient data is why MSSPs are becoming increasingly popular in this field. The nature of these services allows health care professionals to work with any company or infrastructure that they choose without needing to rely on an external party by getting all the benefits of direct access while assuming none of the risks associated with self-management. This is largely due to HIPAA guidelines which specify how existing information can be transferred between various parties, ensuring accountability at every stage of the process.
Why MSSP in Healthcare:
If you want your healthcare facility to have reliable systems that are capable of supporting necessary 24/7 operations, then it makes sense to consider the value of an MSSP such as IPCyber Security. The team at this firm can provide your facility with a comprehensive range of services that will allow you to stay well ahead of the curve in terms of security without having to worry about liability or compliance issues.
To learn more about what IPCyber Security has to offer, all you have to do is get in touch with us. We’re always happy to chat about how our managed IT services can benefit your employees and physical infrastructure alike, ensuring that you remain in charge while we help secure things behind the scenes.
Benefits to Health care sector:
Healthcare is a vast industry which has many sectors and it is one of the most regulated industries due to protection of information.
In healthcare every company, irrespective if they are hospitals or doctor’s offices or pharmacies, need computing resources ranging from electronic medical records , patient management systems, billing records etc.
HIPAA a US law mandates all health care entities maintain records electronically and access to these records should be given only to the authenticated user with a strong password for data protection .
As technology advances more new applications come in place but maintaining continuity of service providing business value while keeping up with changing technologies puts a lot of pressure on IT departments leading to increase in headcount, network bandwidth cost and managing all this becomes very difficult .
Health care organizations have reduced IT headcount by implementing managed service providers having expertise in managing their network and computing resources.
Healthcare industry is very sensitive about data security that needs to be maintained for patients’ information . This is the area IPCyber Security has its strength in complying with HIPAA, HITECH , PCI DSS requirements for protecting data confidentiality (HIPAA) , integrity (HITECH), Availability (HIPAA), Data Confidentiality (PCI-DSS). MSP’s like IPCyber Security maintain sub service level agreements on most of these topics.
MSSPs provide a wide range of services to ensure maximum uptime for customers:
Remote monitoring -Monitors computing resources and provides alerts for detection of any issues or anomalies. This service helps reduce the operational costs for health care entities that have aging servers which are prone to failure.
Hardware virtualization – Allows running multiple operating systems on the same hardware, thereby increasing performance.
Software as a Service (SaaS) – SaaS is a form of software distribution in which an application runs on a vendor’s server and is made available to customers over the internet. Customers do not need to install it themselves and can instead access it via web browser .
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) – Allows users to maintain the entire computing environment, reduced cost associated with personnel salaries, provisioning storage space, bandwidth etc.
Data backup & recovery services – A data protection solution that includes continuous backups to ensure business continuity at all times. It keeps information secure through automatic daily backups to an offsite location using disk-to-disk technology.
