Health Care Data Recovery

For those who are in the health care information technology field, the new year promises to be a year of big changes for IT due in part to two main events of last year. One of those events is the release of the iPad. The second is the new role of federal agencies when it comes to health care and the management of medical records, specifically those in the electronic healthcare records arena.Why Does the iPad Change Things?Physicians and nurses alike have literally bought iPads off the shelf, just as the mainstream consumer has done. Tablet systems which hit the shelf from other venues, specifically the Windows version simply haven’ t been as rapidly picked up and used. Nearly all of the health care providers of today are using the iPad and multiple health care providers are now making their electronic healthcare records for the iPad and others are making software as a service systems that will work outside of the typical systems.This means that not only do those companies need to find a way to shore up their security for the software as a service, but to assure the continuity in the case of a disaster of even small proportions. Backing up your data and assuring that it is not only recoverable, but secure is particularly important when dealing with health care records of any type. The new federal regulations mean that unless physicians and hospitals are using certified EHR types of systems to report, to collect, and to analyze that data which is taken from their patients and have a viable means of protection of that data, they are not eligible for the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act incentive funding which could account for a great deal of assistance in securing their records and other health care materials such as photos.Assuring continuity of data and the use of a data recovery system can help to assure the funding that the medical center and physicians office requires to help with updates and other kinds of information simply by bringing them into compliance with the new federal mandates for health care data systems that are secure and give them the proper means of recovery in the event of a disaster of any proportions.