Despite the encryption technology and password-protected files, millions of healthcare data 
breaches occur every year. Most hospitals spend large amounts of money to follow security measures
put in place by the federal government, which ensures that data isn’t getting into the wrong hands. Yet it still occurs and these facilities face millions of dollars in fines annually.
Rural hospitals certainly aren’t immune to these security issues and must put into play layers of security that protect their patients’ data, just as the hospitals in urban areas do. The difference is, the larger hospitals often have more resources to help them stay HIPAA compliant.
Experts in the area of risk assessment have recently proclaimed that the rural healthcare facilities actually have more to gain from technological advances than the large hospitals. The reason being, smaller facilities can more easily combine clinical and financial data into one system that can be accessed via the Internet. This allows them to manage costs and share data throughout the
organization.
Through this type of integration, rural hospital data is easier to input as well as access. There is no longer a need to input data in multiple formats because the integrated system is a convenient, one-stop-shop. The ease of this operation gives the rural hospital staff the opportunity to step away from data
entry and toward offering their patients better quality care.
The healthcare industry has for some time now embraced patient-centric care, and with rural hospital data more easily accessed through integrated systems, they can better follow the data, whether it’s by episodes of care or by patient.
Many rural facilities are faced with some decisions as they consider electronic health records – should they interface their current financial management system with software that’s meant to be used for electronic health care records or replace everything with an integrated clinical and financial system that can handle both? Many web-based solutions offer integrated systems that have been
of great use to rural facilities. They offer enhanced documentation with automation features that can improve cash flow.
An integrated system will also offer reporting that’s virtually in real time. This is not the case with systems that tie in more than one solution, which is why more facilities are embracing a unified and integrated system.
Many rural hospitals are working to establish a DICOM exchange so that they can better share their radiological imaging. These facilities are moving away from film and CDs and embracing technology that allows them to share data faster and with more security than ever before. The technology being used is
allowing healthcare professionals the ability to share information across multiple systems organizations.
OffSite Image Management, Inc., offers vendor neutral archiving, which gives rural healthcare facilities seamless storage and archiving capabilities across any PACS. OffSite focuses on offering solutions to rural hospitals where major challenges in adopting an imaging data center occur regularly. There are no
startup fees either, which is a plus for rural centers that lack the resources that larger facilities can tap into.