disaster recovery a premium medical billing service

Disaster Recovery – A Premium Medical Billing Service

If your medical office experiences a natural or man-made calamity that takes out electricity, plumbing, water supplies and your computer system with it, are you going to hang out a sign that says, “Closed due to disaster”? Or not?

Natural Disasters

The day when disaster strikes is not the day to wish you had a disaster recovery plan. Although many businesses are not prepared for occurrences like these, that is rapidly changing. At one time, an off-site, backed-up data system took care of everything. Sometimes, it took several days to get your business going again, but back then, it took everybody that long. We made allowances for it. These days, that solution is no longer an option, for anyone.

 

Disaster Recovery

 

Now, a relatively new idea called business recovery has become big business and for medical billing services and medical offices, it is a field that can provide many benefits. Medical billing services in particular that can offer this service to clients are providing peace of mind, and for a relatively low cost can provide clients with an invaluable service.

 

Medical related businesses of all kinds are moving toward the technology known as cloud storage. Cloud storage has made the goal of business recovery one that will be relatively painless if it is ever needed. It stores company and patient data in a virtual location that is accessible from any computer with Internet capabilities. Medical billing services, physicians’ offices and hospitals all over the country that use it know that their business will continue as usual in the event of any disaster that strikes.

 

Imagine never having to say to a patient “our system is down,” because it never will be. Canceled appointments and rescheduled procedures will be a thing of the past because cloud storage means you computers are never down. You may retrieve patient data or electronic files from any computer without additional hardware or software. Never miss a beat because your information lives in safe cloud storage.

 

If you would like to be considered a thought leader of medical billing, be aware that this is a service you can offer your clients. You may need to educate your clients on how important it is to have a business recovery plan today, and how cloud storage technology can provide it.

 

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began a new program that investigates and fines medical practices that do not have a business recovery system, including data backup. They maintain that patient health information that is not protected violates HIPPA.

 

Disaster Statistics

 

An article in Forbes magazine notes that the medical data recovery field is growing so fast that by 2017 it will be worth $5.4 billion. The article also notes that cloud storage is well suited to heavily regulated industries (such as health care) due to its strict security capabilities. HIPPA insists on strict data transfer requirements and that data be encrypted, and only cloud storage can offer this security.

 

Advising Clients About Disasters

 

When next you meet, ask your clients about their current disaster plans. Make sure they are aware of the HIPPA mandate, and the benefits of cloud storage. If they have questions on the legalities, they should speak with a qualified disaster attorney.  Disaster lawyers have experience handling clients after they have been affected by natural or man-made disasters.  Educate them about the scalability of these systems that can handle records in any number, large or small. Tell them also that they are mobile friendly. The fact that cloud based systems are made to be mobile is an added plus, as are the cost reductions they can expect.

 

Conclusion

 

And don’t forget – today what businesses that operate on data systems need is cyber threat protection. A few years ago, those words had no meaning. Today they mean business survival, and remind them that you are there to help them achieve it.

 

 

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