How to Attack Your Business Continuity Plan
Every now and then we get reminders of why we should always hope for the best but plan for the worst. This is at the
essence of what a business continuity plan is, especially for the healthcare industry where disruptions in business through outside forces can compromise a lot more than business continuity.
Fittingly, this topic aligns with FEMA’s National Preparedness Month. The theme this year is related to making an emergency plan now rather than waiting for something to happen. FEMA has established each week in the month of September as one in which to focus on specific threats – threats that can impact the data you archive and need access to at your facility. Hurricanes, fire, floods and power outages – they’re all threats that can affect the data, including medical images and HL7 data, which your healthcare professionals rely upon to provide excellent patient care.
The amount of medical image data being stored grows every day. It can be a taxing process, especially for smaller providers with limited budgets, to process and store. To add insult to injury, there is a tremendous focus on electronic medical records today, and regulations outlined in Meaningful Use specifically include radiological reports, which must be recorded electronically within 24 hours of an exam. What about providers without the necessary means to adhere to the regulations? Fortunately, there are solutions available to them, even the ones without a high-functioning PACS.
Cloud-based archives are adding relief to a multitude of providers, large and small, who need a method of accessing medical images that doesn’t involve a complete replacement of their current PACS. Furthermore, these cloud-based solutions offer a business continuity solution. Part of every business continuity strategy is disaster recovery. Floods, fires, massive storms and power outages are taken into account with the best vendors who will use multiple data centers where information is duplicated. What affects the data in one center won’t affect the data in others as they are geographically separated and aren’t susceptible to the same threats.
Disaster recovery is an important subset of business continuity. However, much of what is involved with disaster recovery relates to IT or the technological systems that support the business function. Providers planning for how they’ll function in the event of a large scale natural disaster are going to need access to medical images and HL7 data, which is why they’re focused on cloud-based solutions that involve off site storage of important information that medical providers will need as they treat patients.
OffSite Image Management, Inc. takes business continuity planning very seriously. We are familiar with HIPAA guidelines that cover integrity, confidentiality and availability. We use Level IV data centers to keep all data secure and available at all times. We know that cost is a factor, especially for our rural clients, which is why our solutions are scalable, affordable and of the best quality in the industry. Contact us today and find out how we can assist you in your business continuity planning.