When it comes to IT, there are a LOT of moving pieces. Think about all the headaches people bring to you day in and day out. How many of the following do you have to manage over the course of a week:
Password resets?
Printer problems?
Wifi issues?
EHR not working the way they want it to work?
Phone system outage?
Internet outage?
On track of day-to-day user issues. Think of all the other things you are expected to make sure are done right:
Backups?
Patching?
Network monitoring?
Antivirus updates?
Now think of all the things that you might not have time to do (BUT are really needed from a security standpoint). Who is keeping you confident about:
User and workstation event tracking?
Network anomaly tracking?
Phishing?
Compliance and standards tracking?
HIPAA training and continuous user education?
Latest vulnerability research and configuration changes?
What can you actually fit on your plate?
Even if you could handle all of your hospital’s IT needs, wants and demands, do you want to be responsible for everything?
Why you might consider co-managing your network?
Let me give you a simple analogy here. Let’s say you were on a Las Vegas vacation and had to get across town (3 miles). Would you rent a car or Uber to your destination?
If you rent a car: You are totally in control. You can take whatever route you want. You can blast the AC as high as you want, you can blast your music as loud as you like it. You can drive as fast or slow as your heart desires.
BUT with owning the responsibility of driving, there come some things you may not quite like. You need to know where you’re going. Parking? Could be expensive! Remembering where you parked might be challenging in a sea of other cars that probably look exactly like the one you rented (white seems to be a popular color in hot Vegas desert). What if you had a few too many drinks? Who’s driving you home—or are you the designated driver that has to worry about everyone else? What about filling the car up when you’re done?
The reality with renting a car is that there are a TON of responsibilities that come with managing your drive.
Same goes for IT support, compliance and security when it comes to managing your network.
If you want to take the wheel for every single bit of your hospital’s network—have to worry about end user security, training, network-wide vulnerabilities, user issues, software compatibility, hardware problems—the gamut of IT support and security—while checking boxes for your HIPAA audit, you are taking on a huge amount of work and are making big promises and commitments.
Taking an Uber puts you in control of where you’re headed without all the headaches of driving a car.
Similarly, co-managing your network with a security trained specifically to protect and support rural and critical access hospitals will alleviate all the headaches—and often mistakes from having to be an expert at everything IT.
My question to you is what path do you prefer? Would you rather have high level control over your network, while not having to chase around little user issues? Would you rather oversee a specialized security team that works exclusively in rural healthcare to get security right?
Contact Us TODAY for a free network assessment.
