EHR Cloud – Is your Patient Data Protected or at Risk?

15 May 2017

With so much talk about Cloud computing physicians must work to educate themselves on Cloud technology as ultimately they are responsible for their patient’s health data. First of all there is no actual Cloud where the EHR software is being hosted. Cloud is simply a way of saying the EHR software is installed on another server somewhere outside of the clinic. Unfortunately for most physicians they have no clue as to where the patient data is being hosted, how often the data is being backed-up, if the data is being backed up offsite and what (if any) procedures are in place to ensure continuous access to the EHR software. Physicians quickly learn the answers to these questions once they have a problem with accessing their EHR software.

Essential questions to ask your EHR Cloud provider would include the following:

  1. Is the equipment being used to operate and store the EHR software owned by the EHR Company or simply rented?
  2. If the equipment is rented, what guarantee does the clinic have that only the EHR software and patient health data is being installed and operated on any particular server? What prevents other companies that are not healthcare related from running on the same server where the patient health data is being stored? In many situations this is the case as EHR companies are simply renting hardware and data to store and run their EHR software for customers. Could this be a potential liability for your clinic?
  3. What safety precautions are in place to ensure the protection of EHR data?
  4. Where is your EHR data being stored?
  5. How often is data backed up throughout the day?
  6. How long would it take to restore data that was accidently deleted by the clinic?
  7. What speed is being offered for access in terms of Mbps?
  8. Is the EHR software being operated in a virtual environment?
  9. Is the database being operated in a virtual environment?
  10. Is there a security guard onsite 24/7 at the physical data center?

As the leading U.S. provider of High Performance Electronic Health Records and Practice Management Solutions, MD Logic own and operates all the equipment at the MD Logic Data Center. Access and data storage at the MD Logic data center is exclusive to physicians and healthcare professionals. The MD Logic software is operated in a virtual environment and backed up throughout the day. Speed connecting to our data center is provided with standard 60Mbps burstable up to 100Mbps (extremely fast).

To learn more about MD Logic Cloud technology, please contact our corporate headquarters today at 800-273-7750.