IT Support for Healthcare Practices

Practice systems

Practice software and imaging

Most practices run a practice management system for the diary, records and payments, either in the cloud or on a server in the building, alongside imaging equipment such as X-ray sensors, intraoral cameras, scanners or retinal cameras on dedicated workstations. The specialist software belongs to its supplier. The computers, network and Microsoft 365 around it are ours to look after, and that’s where most problems start.

Imaging workstations need care. Their software is often tied to particular versions of Windows and device drivers, so we plan updates with your imaging supplier rather than around them, and deal with the supplier for you when something needs their help.

Ageing imaging PCs are a common sticking point. Under Cyber Essentials, software that no longer gets security updates must be removed, or kept in a separate part of the network that blocks all internet traffic. We can set up that separation so an old X-ray PC keeps working without putting the rest of the practice at risk.

Uptime

When reception can’t book

If the diary is down, patients queue, the phone rings unanswered and the whole day runs late. Most outages come from a short list of causes: the internet connection, a failed server or reception PC, a printer that drops off the network, or a password that expires at 8.30am.

Our proactive monitoring means many problems are found and fixed before you notice them, and urgent ones are typically picked up straight away. If your booking system and phones depend on a single internet line, we’ll talk to you about a backup connection. More on networks and Wi-Fi. When the phone system itself is the problem, we work alongside our telecoms partners on your business phones.

Ransomware

Backups that get you back

Ransomware can stop a practice for days: no diary, no records, no imaging. The ICO is clear that when ransomware encrypts personal data, that is a personal data breach in itself, because you’ve lost timely access to the data.

The NCSC calls up-to-date backups the most effective way to recover from ransomware, and warns that attackers deliberately go after backups connected to your network. Daily backups monitored by our team come with every agreement, and we’ll check that at least one copy is kept apart from your network, as the NCSC advises, and that a restore actually works. Your disaster recovery plan sets out what comes back first, usually the diary and patient records. More on backup and recovery.

Certification

Cyber Essentials for practices

Cyber Essentials covers five controls that stop the most common attacks: firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection and security updates. It’s a sensible baseline for any practice, and the National Data Guardian’s standards name it as an example of the framework your security strategy should be built on. It doesn’t cover backups, though, so it isn’t the whole answer.

We keep every system we manage to the Cyber Essentials standard, certified or not. Our Cyber Essentials support starts from £295 + VAT plus the IASME assessment fee, and every business we’ve prepared has passed. We also prepare practices for Cyber Essentials Plus, with hands-on testing by the certification body, and support you through the audit. For practices, meeting the DSPT standards with a current Cyber Essentials Plus certificate recorded shows as “Standards Exceeded”.