The Bridge from SolutionStart News from SolutionStart to help you keep bridging the gap between technology and your dental practice In this issue New Products P.1 Power Outage Troubleshooting P.2 End of Life for Windows XP P.3 Social Media and HIPAA P.4 HIPAA Update P.5 Save with SolutionStart P.6 The Client Portal P.7 New Product! Aspida Encrypted Email and Web Hosting SolutionStart is now offering Aspida Encrypted Email and Web Hosting. Building on the success of our Aspida Cloud Backup, Aspida Encrypted Email and Web Hosting provides dentists with an all inclusive solution for HIPAA compliant encrypted email and web hosting. So what can you expect with Aspida Email and Web Hosting? Email: Encrypted Email for up to 20 accounts *Email archiving, retention, and backup for 7 years Policy-based email archive solution for inbound and outbound email, which is required by HIPAA Spam and Malware Protection *Inspection technology that throttles and blocks inbound and outbound SPAM and malware, ensuring your domain mail server is not compromised or blacklisted. Whether it s protecting against a rogue SMTP sender inside the organization, or an out of control virus with a spamming component, we can protect your office s reputation so the lines of email communication remain efficient and clean-flowing Web Hosting: One domain and web hosting for the practice *Adding additional domains is $2 per month One domain renewal for the practice, annually. One Dedicated IP address (Internet Protocol) for the practice web site One SSL Certificate for the practice website *Provides a secure connection between your site and the public s view of your site. This is critical if you have any forms on your site (which MANY do) that asks patients to submit their personal information. Tech Tip If you ever experience a technical issue with your network please be sure to call Support immediately. We will diagnose and fix any issues that may arise. Please remember, never manually restart your server. Doing so can cause even greater harm to the network and make small issues much bigger, just call us! Calling SolutionStart? Our phone system options have changed, so to reach the appropriate department simply dial: 1 for Sales 2 for Compliance Services 3 for Support 4 for Billing 5 for Human Resources 6 for Customer Service To learn more about worry free and secure email and web hosting, contact Paul Miller at 704-525-2522 or pmiller@solutionstart.com
Power, Network and Internet Outage Troubleshooting At SolutionStart we strive to keep your IT infrastructure running as efficiently as possible. The recent storms have increased calls for service related to power outages. In an effort to improve efficiency and provide better service we have put together a step by step guide on what to do when you experience outages. Power Outage All power in the building is out 1. Contact your building manager or whoever supplies power to the building to report the outage. 2. Contact SolutionStart to inform us that there is a power outage and if there is an ETA on when it will be restored. 3. Once the power has been restored check to make sure your server has turned on automatically. If not, turn on the server and verify power is getting to the rest of the equipment in your wiring closet. 4. Contact SolutionStart to inform us that power has been restored and the server has been turned back on. We will remote in once the server is fully booted to verify everything is running normally. If there are further technical issues we can address them while on the phone. Network Outage No power outage has occurred or power has been on for at least an hour and you are unable to access your PMS 1. Check the wiring closet where your server and switch is located to verify there is power getting to that room. If not, please check the circuit box to see if a circuit was flipped. Otherwise, contact your building manager or electrician. 2. If everything is lit up in the wiring/server closet, check to see if you can get to the internet or your Practice Management. Support will need this information for troubleshooting. 3. If you are able to access the internet but not your practice management or not able to access either, please contact SolutionStart. Internet Outage You are able to access your PMS, but unable to access the internet When just your internet is down the first steps are to power cycle your modem and firewall. At any time if you have trouble with these devices you may contact SolutionStart for assistance. 1. Look for a device in your wiring closet labeled SonicWall or Fortinet and unplug the power cord from the back of the device. This is your firewall and the cord will look different from all the rest. 2. Then you will need to disconnect the power to your modem. The modem should be a device that is the same size or smaller than your firewall and is connected to the firewall with a network cable. Again, the power cable should look different than all the rest. DO NOT disconnect your switch which you should notice as a larger device with a large number of network cables that is also connected to your firewall. 3. Once both devices have the power disconnected and lights off you will want to plug in your modem after waiting 30 seconds since it lost power. Give the modem approximately 60 seconds after you restore power so it will have a chance to boot. 4. Plug back in the power cord to your firewall (SonicWall or Fortinet) and allow up to 5 min before checking the internet again. If these steps do not return internet to your office you can check with your Internet Service Provider to see if there is an outage in your area. If there is not an outage in your area, please contact SolutionStart so we may troubleshoot with your ISP.
End of Life Dates Windows XP April 8, 2014 Windows Server 2003 July 7, 2015 Windows XP Product Support Ending Effective April 8 th, 2014 Microsoft will no longer support XP and Office 2003 and effective July 7, 2015 Windows Server 2003. So what does this mean for your practice exactly? Windows Vista April 12, 2017 It means you should take action. After April 8, 2014 and July 7, 2015 there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates from Microsoft or ISV s. Keep in mind, updated software is a requirement of HIPAA and will jeopardize your compliance efforts. Running Windows XP SP3, Office 2003 or Windows Server 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks, such as: Security & Compliance Risks Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support What should you do? Call SolutionStart to learn how you can get current with Windows 7, Office 2010 and Windows Server 2008. This option has upside well beyond keeping you supported. It offers more flexibility to empower employees to be more productive, while increasing operational efficiency through improved PC security and management. Microsoft Office 2013 Effective now, Microsoft is no longer offering Office 2010 for sale requiring users to purchase Office 2013. Please note that Office 2013 is NOT compatible with Windows XP and requires Windows 7 or higher. To find out more, please contact your SolutionStart sales representative at 704-525-2522, Option 1. 704.525.2522 704.525.5422 ph fax
Social Media and HIPAA Compliance By Jennifer Thompson You obviously want to leverage social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to work for your practice and help you grow your patient base, right? Of course you do. But, it s imperative to balance the benefits and risks of social media to ensure proper HIPAA compliance. Some of the main benefits of social media for your practice include the ability to provide customers with information quickly (for free) while engaging them in real time and measuring results quantifiably. However, because of the HIPAA Security Rule requiring all individually identifiable health information that an organization creates, receives, maintains or transmits in electronic form to be protected, you must be cognizant of what you re putting on your social networks and what your audience is giving back to you. HIPAA regulators have also begun to conduct random audits and that means your office must be ready to produce the necessary documentation (just in case). Quick Tips to Stay HIPAA Compliant When ineffectively managed, social media risks can harm patient privacy, lead to legal sanctions, and perhaps most importantly, cause irreversible reputational damage for you and your practice. Luckily there are a few easy things you can do to help make sure your practice remains HIPAA compliant on the social media network (s) of your choice: *Actively Inform and Manage Privacy Concerns. When it comes to health information, privacy is of key concern. That said, you must act in accordance with the preference of your patients. In other words, you can only communicate directly with patients regarding their health information over social media channels if you ve received their express permission and your office has informed them of the risks associated with such communication. *Keep Your Networks Secure. Make sure to work closely with your IT department or partner to establish strict security, access and information sharing pathways. *Ask Before Posting Anything. You must consider individual patient confidentiality before using their likeness in any way. You cannot share private details of past cases (such as patient testimonials) without prior written consent from the patient. *Establish Roles in the Office. It s important that everyone in your organization knows his or her role when it comes to your social media presence. This will help ensure compliance and save you a headache or two. When you first begin your efforts, decide which staff members will be able to coordinate, monitor, post and respond to social media messages to help the effort flow smoothly. Establishing a chain of command will also help you quickly respond to issues should they arise down the road. Decide who will post photos, status updates, etc. and who will be their backup. Then choose if those same individuals will also respond to patient inquires and health information requests. Social media provides healthcare practices a marketing tool to connect with patients like never before. With proper management and organization your office too can have a strong social media presence while remaining HIPAA compliant.
If You Didn t Care About HIPAA Before, You May Need to Now By Terri Quinn The HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule, released January 2013, greatly expands the number of organizations that must comply with HIPAA beyond the known Covered Entities. The Final Rule expands the definition of a Business Associate to include an organization that creates, receives, transmits or maintains PHI. Adding the term maintains into the definition makes a big difference and will include a lot more businesses than before. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimates that 250,000 500,000 additional entities will be considered a Business Associate and therefore must comply with HIPAA Under the Final Rule, a Business Associate is defined as a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities that involve the disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) on behalf of, or provides services to, a covered entity. Under the Interim Rule, HHS allowed for two exceptions to the Business Associate definition the conduit exception and the incidental exposure exception. Under the Final Rule, incidental exposure is no longer an exception, and the conduit exception is intended to only exclude those entities providing mere courier services, such as the U.S. Postal service, UPS, or their electronic equivalents, such as internet services providers (ISPs). This change may now include your business as a Business Associate under the Final Rule. So, are you a Business Associate in this new HIPAA world? A few questions to ask yourself: 1. Do any of your employees, services, tools or functions have the opportunity to touch your customer s PHI? It doesn t matter whether they need to use PHI or not, just that they could access it. 2. Does your customer s PHI enter your organization at all? 3. Are you a subcontractor of a Covered Entity or a Business Associate? If any of your answers is Yes or Maybe, you may be considered a Business Associate now and should check with your attorney for more details and guidance. As a Business Associate under the new law, you are directly liable for compliance to HIPAA Rules and subject to civil penalties for failing to safeguard electronic PHI in accordance with the HIPAA Security Rule. The Final Rule was effective on March 26, 2013 with compliance to the new Rules by Sept 23, 2013. HHS expects that audits will start up again in late 2013 and continue into 2014. Now is the time to learn if HIPAA has entered your world. To learn more about how SolutionStart can you help you manage the demands of HIPAA compliance, feel free to contact us at compliance@solutionstart.com
Ways to Save with SolutionStart *Refer us to a friend* If you refer* us to a doctor who then becomes a client, you will receive $500 off support ($250/month over two months) *Make sure to let your Sales Rep know so that we can apply your discount *Like us on Facebook!* If your practice Likes* our Facebook page, we ll give you $10 off one month s support! *Email us at SocialMedia@solutionstart.com when you do so we can apply your discount *Pay for your support in advance* If you want to save 5% off yearly support, pay for your year in advance! Don t forget, we also now accept all major credit cards! *Add an additional practice* Get a 10% multi-location discount off monthly support! Expires 9/30/13
The SolutionStart Client Portal Available to all clients currently on support and at no additional charge. With our Client Portal you can now: Access all service tickets (open and closed) Create new service tickets Review open projects Retrieve reports View invoices Live chat with a SolutionStart Support Representative Please call Support and let them know you are interested and we will activate your free account today!