How Managed IT Services for Healthcare Can Be a Game Changer

Perhaps more than any other industry, the U.S. healthcare field has experienced a significant change in the past five years. The COVID pandemic was a huge disruptor, of course, but healthcare organizations have long been feeling the pressure to conduct their digital transformations before the pandemic hit.

Healthcare is changing in many ways, as patients evolve into consumers expecting the same level of digital service as their Amazon shopping experience. We’ve seen an accelerating evolution of everything in healthcare from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to telemedicine, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and online patient portals for scheduling — just to name a few. As IT grows increasingly complex, healthcare organizations struggle to manage these systems to improve patient care.

What information technology (IT) challenges are healthcare providers facing today and what resources exist to help them overcome them?

HEALTHCARE’S LATEST IT CHALLENGES

Several factors contribute to the increasing complexity of healthcare IT. For example:

• Data Volume and Variety: Healthcare generates vast amounts of data, including patient records, diagnostic images, genomic information and more. Managing and integrating this diverse and voluminous data is a complex task, especially as new types of data (e.g., wearable device data) become more prevalent.
• Interoperability Challenges: Healthcare IT systems often need to communicate and share data across various platforms and devices. However, achieving interoperability — seamless data exchange between different systems and vendors — has been a persistent challenge. The lack of standardized data formats and communication protocols contributes to the complexity.
• Regulatory Compliance: The healthcare industry is heavily regulated to ensure patient privacy and safety. Compliance with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union adds complexity to the design and implementation of healthcare IT systems.
• Integration of Legacy Systems: Many healthcare organizations still use legacy systems that were implemented years ago. Integrating these older systems with newer, more advanced technologies can be complex and time-consuming. Legacy systems may lack the interoperability and flexibility needed for seamless data exchange.
• Cybersecurity Concerns: The healthcare industry is a prime target for cyberattacks due to the sensitive nature of patient data. Providers around the world experienced an average of 1,463 cyberattacks per week in 2022. That was a 74% increase from 2021. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures adds an additional layer of complexity to healthcare IT systems. Regular updates and compliance with security standards are essential but can be challenging to maintain.
• Increasing Complexity of Medical Devices: The integration of medical devices into healthcare IT systems is growing. These devices, ranging from infusion pumps to imaging equipment, often come with their own software and data formats. Ensuring the seamless integration of diverse medical devices into a cohesive IT infrastructure poses technical challenges.
• Shadow IT: Shadow IT refers to the use of IT systems, devices, software or services within an organization without explicit approval or oversight from the IT department. In healthcare, as in other industries, shadow IT can pose several challenges and risks. This phenomenon is a common security concern in hospitals and health systems, particularly in software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. In 2022, 19% of healthcare organizations reported SaaS security issues. It’s a particular concern given the risk of non-compliance with data security and privacy, leaving the provider open to severe financial penalties and reputational damage.
• Rapid Technological Advancements: Healthcare IT is evolving rapidly with the advent of technologies such as AI, machine learning and automation and IoT. Implementing and integrating these technologies into existing systems require expertise and careful planning, contributing to the overall complexity.
• Remote Work for Healthcare Professionals: Like many other sectors, healthcare professionals have experienced changes in their work environments. Remote work has become more common for non-clinical roles, and the use of digital tools for collaboration has increased. This trend increases cybersecurity risk and the complexities of managing end-to-end architectures.
• Patient Expectations and Experience: As technology advances in other industries, healthcare IT is expected to keep pace. Patients and healthcare professionals increasingly expect user-friendly interfaces, mobile access to health information and personalized experiences. Meeting these expectations adds layers of complexity to system design and implementation.
• Population Health Management: The shift towards population health management and value-based care models requires healthcare organizations to analyze and manage large datasets to improve overall health outcomes. This trend necessitates sophisticated IT solutions for data analytics and predictive modeling.

During times of great organizational change, companies often look to trusted external resources to help them overcome these challenges. That’s when managed IT services for healthcare can be a game changer.

WHAT ARE MANAGED IT SERVICES FOR HEALTHCARE?

Managed IT services for healthcare refer to outsourced technology resources from a third-party vendor to a hospital, medical practice or another clinical or administrative provider. These services help healthcare providers manage their IT infrastructures, including hardware, software and networks, both in the cloud and on-premises. Managed IT services providers work closely with healthcare organizations to ensure their technologies are secure, reliable and efficient while also complying with regulatory rules and standards. Some of the services offered by managed IT services organizations include:

• Cybersecurity: Managed IT service providers offer security assessments and audits and implement systems to overcome cyber threats, such as antivirus software, data encryption, firewalls and more. Some healthcare managed IT services offerings also include cybersecurity training for staff.
• IT Infrastructure Management: Healthcare managed IT services can help healthcare organizations monitor and manage their architectures for better performance.
• Clinical Information System Management: From electronic health records (EHRs) to decision support platforms, data warehouses and more, healthcare managed service providers can handle both on-premises, cloud-based or hybrid clinical information systems to improve patient outcomes.
  For example, healthcare providers increasingly rely on electronic health records (EHRs) to manage patient information efficiently. Healthcare managed IT services can handlethe implementation, optimizationand maintenance of EHR systems. This service can ensure interoperability, data accuracy and adherence to industry standards, contributing to improved patient care coordination.
• Telehealth Support: With the growing adoption of telehealth services, managed IT services play a crucial role in supporting the technology infrastructure required for virtual patient consultations. This includes ensuring the reliability and security of telehealth platforms, as well as integrating them seamlessly with other healthcare systems.
• Disaster Recovery: Only about 54% of American businesses have a disaster recovery plan in place — including healthcare providers. A disaster recovery plan helps providers regain control of IT systems in the event of a natural or human-made crisis. A managed IT services provider can help you create and implement healthcare recovery plans in the event of a disaster. From COVID to adverse weather events, many types of external threats create risk for healthcare organizations. Disaster recovery plans ensure that businesses will survive the unthinkable.
• Cloud Computing: Healthcare organizations are moving to the cloud in greater numbers; however, adoption is less speedy than in other ind Around 50% of all industries leverage cloud services but the number drops to 25% when talking about the healthcare sector. Healthcare managed IT services can help roadmap, migrate and manage a successful cloud services deployment.

What are the Benefits of Managed IT Services for Healthcare Organizations?

Benefits of Managed IT Services for Healthcare Organizations

Managed IT services for healthcare can provide a wide range of benefits to these organizations. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Saves Money and Resources: Over half (53%) of hospitals are losing money these days. Outsourcing daily IT maintenance to a third-party healthcare managed IT services firm can save a hospital money and time for understaffed internal technology teams. Outsourcing means that HR teams don’t have to worry about the costs of training new staff. It also frees up your existing IT team to focus on core organizational initiatives—like digital transformation.
• Improved Cybersecurity: Cybercriminals often target hospitals because they have a treasure trove of patient data but have typically lagged on cybersecurity. Healthcare cyber-attacks disrupt the organization and put patient data at risk, but new studies also show these critical IT events increase patient mortality.
  Managed IT service providers can help healthcare organizations improve cybersecurity by implementing robust security protocols and conducting regular security audits. This service can help protect sensitive patient data, prevent costly breaches and, ultimately, save lives.
• Increased efficiency: Managed IT services can help healthcare organizations streamline their IT operations and automate routine tasks, freeing up staff to focus on more complex tasks that require human expertise. This effort leads to increased efficiency and productivity, generating revenue and improving the patient experience.
• Reduced costs: Studies show outsourcing can cut labor costs by 90%. Outsourcing management of a technology architecture to a managed IT services for healthcare provider can be cost-effective. This move can eliminate the need for in-house IT staff and the associated costs, such as salaries, benefits and training. Healthcare managed service providers can also help provider organizations optimize their IT spending and reduce unnecessary expenses.
• Scalability: Managed IT services can help healthcare organizations scale their IT infrastructure up or down as needed, ensuring the resources they need to support business operations. This scalability can be particularly useful for growing healthcare organizations.
• Expertise: Managed IT services for healthcare offers these organizations resources and talent they may lack. Managed IT providers are experts in the management of complex technology systems and can provide healthcare organizations with access to specialized knowledge and skills that may not be available in-house. This service offering can help healthcare organizations stay up to date with the latest technologies and industry trends without the need to hire additional staff.
• Compliance: Healthcare organizations are subject to various regulations and standards, such as HIPAA and HITECH. Healthcare managed service providers can help ensure that healthcare organizations follow these regulations and standards, reducing the risk of costly penalties and fines.
• Business continuity: Managed IT services providers can help healthcare organizations develop and implement disaster recovery and business continuity plans, ensuring that critical IT systems can be restored quickly during a disaster.

For all these reasons, outsourcing managed IT services for healthcare is a game changer.

RED RIVER: YOUR TRUSTED MANAGED IT HEALTHCARE SERVICES PROVIDER

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in patient care and management. With advances in our IT architectures come challenges, particularly in the realm of management of these tools. Healthcare managed IT services help these critically important organizations improve their use and security of technology tools and frees up their internal teams to focus on delivering high quality patient care.

The growing complexity of healthcare’s HerT infrastructures and increasing government regulation create the perfect case study for managed IT services. But when these pressures combine with staffing shortages, you end up with the perfect storm that only outsourcing can quell. Red River is an expert managed IT services provider for the healthcare industry. Contact us to find out more.

Q&A

WHAT ARE MANAGED IT SERVICES FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS?

Healthcare managed IT services outsource various information technology tasks to specialized third-party service providers with technology expertise. These services are designed to support and streamline the technology infrastructure of healthcare organizations, allowing them to focus on delivering high-quality patient care.

One critical aspect of this service is infrastructure management, encompassing the monitoring, maintenance and updates of servers, networks and data centers. This service ensures the reliability, security and optimal performance of IT systems.

Security and compliance are also top priorities in healthcare due to the sensitive nature of patient data. Managed IT services implement robust cybersecurity measures to protect patient information from unauthorized access. Healthcare managed IT services teams assist healthcare organizations in maintaining compliance with industry regulations and standards.

Data backup and recovery are integral components of hospital managed IT services. These external resources can implement and manage data backup solutions to safeguard critical patient information. In the event of data loss or system failure, these services ensure prompt and effective recovery, minimizing downtime and preventing disruptions to healthcare operations.

HOW DO MANAGED IT SERVICES FOR HOSPITALS HELP WITH PATIENT CARE?

Managed IT services can help hospitals improve patient care by providing clinicians access to critical patient information, implementing technologies that improve patient access to care and leveraging data analytics to make better decisions about patient care. For example, managed IT providers can help hospitals optimize their EHR systems, ensuring the accuracy and security of patient records. These providers can also provide continuous monitoring of hospital IT systems for greater uptime and increased security. By improving the efficiency and effectiveness of hospital IT systems, managed IT services can help clinicians spend more time with patients, leading to better health outcomes and improved patient satisfaction.