Healthcare Providers Can Enhance It By Outsourcing Their Data Centers
By Greg Ross, Vice President, Product Management, FairPoint Communications
Healthcare organizations continue to confront significant budgetary, staffing, regulatory, and technological challenges and are focusing squarely on their data center operations as a way to address these issues. Many are turning to data center colocation service providers which can provide physically secure facilities along with power, cooling, and network connectivity for their IT environment.
The complex set of regulatory requirements has been a key driver. Today’s healthcare organizations, for instance, must have data center strategies and programs to address the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which sets standards for handling protected health information (PHI) held by covered entities and their business associates. Implementing and managing a successful compliance program can be a complex, costly, and labor-intensive endeavor for a healthcare provider’s IT staff. A data center service provider with an established HIPAA program can help healthcare organizations address these complex requirements.
But, regulatory compliance is just one issue — albeit an important one. Another challenge is technological innovation. Many healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and administrators rely on mobile devices to access PHI and collaborate with colleagues and patients via audio or video conferencing. Greater mobility results in faster decisions and quicker access to critical information but can potentially exhaust budgets and put strain on IT infrastructure. Healthcare organizations are looking to data center outsourcing as a way to free up capital budgets so they can roll out these essential new technologies while ensuring they have the requisite IT infrastructure.
Healthcare organizations, like businesses in other industries, are experiencing explosive growth in the volume and type of data they must manage. The data center is ground-zero for collecting, analyzing and securely storing data — much of it sensitive patient data. To properly manage this growth, healthcare organizations need physically secure data center space that can accommodate growth, while providing the high-speed network connectivity to ensure quick, reliable access to the data.
Selecting The Right Data Center Provider
Moving to a data center colocation model offers many potential benefits. It can help healthcare organizations address regulatory requirements, reduce budget strain by eliminating capital expenses, and improve productivity and patient care. But, healthcare providers must carefully assess the experience and the expertise of service providers through a comprehensive evaluation process.
Has the service provider undergone SOC audits? Is there a HIPAA program in place? Does the data center employ multi-factor physical security controls? How reliable is the network connectivity? Is there backup power to ensure uptime during widespread and extended power outages? These are some of the key questions healthcare organizations should ask when evaluating data centers.
About The Author
Greg is responsible for strategy, planning and lifecycle management of FairPoint products. Greg has more than 15 years of business-to-consumer and business-to-business experience in more than 20 global markets, developing and executing comprehensive product strategies.