You’re probably thinking, “Who would want to steal data from a dental office?”

Hackers, that’s who. In July 2018, reports revealed that data from over 150,000 National Health Service (NHS) patients was shared over a period of three years. During the same year, a targeted cyberattack on the Singapore government’s health database compromised personal data from 1.5 million patients.

You could say an IT system isn’t nearly as fundamental to dentists as a dental chair is. And yet without a functional IT infrastructure, your dental practice’s ability to serve your patients becomes severely impaired. Lacking an IT system not only limits your staff’s productivity, but it also compromises the security of your patients’ data.

Much like any other organization, dental practices have become heavily reliant on technology to deliver better service to patients, improve profitability, and overcome the challenges of the back office. However, few dental practices have dedicated IT departments of their own.

Cybercriminals have many opportunities to intercept confidential data either at rest or in transit. However, if your data is encrypted, they won’t be able to make any sense of it even if they succeed in getting their hands on it.

Like any other healthcare provider, dental practices must comply with HIPAA and HITECH legislation, which requires all communications to be encrypted.

Keeping up with the demands of modern technology and changing customer habits is tough. When it comes to IT, many dental firms have been left behind, constrained by the limitations of their in-house technology expertise and tight budgets. However, adopting newer and more efficient technologies streamlines internal processes and improves cost control.

Today, patient care heavily depends on your access to healthcare data, which is why its safety and integrity is paramount to the success of your practice. Unfortunately, just like paper documents, digital data is also subject to physical damage such as hardware failure or accidental loss.