IT support for healthcare practices, built around patients and HIPAA

Look for a provider that already understands how a practice runs: your EHR and practice management software, imaging and front-desk devices, patient communication and HIPAA. Then check four things: will they sign a business associate agreement, how fast does a real person start on your issue, are security and backup built into the plan, and can they help with your risk analysis and policies. Ask for references from other practices, and ask how they’d onboard you without disrupting patient hours.

See the questions to ask in our guide

A managed IT provider acts as your outsourced IT department for a predictable monthly fee. For a practice, that typically covers support for providers and staff, monitoring and maintenance of computers, servers and the network, EHR and imaging support, cybersecurity, backup, Microsoft 365 and help with HIPAA safeguards. It also covers planning, so equipment replacements and upgrades happen on your schedule instead of as emergencies.

Managed IT services

Yes. Any IT provider that can access systems holding patient information is a business associate under HIPAA, and you need a signed business associate agreement before they start. Fairoaks IT signs BAAs with our healthcare clients. Be wary of any provider that hesitates, or says it doesn’t need one because it “doesn’t look at patient data.”

HIPAA, done right

Yes. Co-managed IT gives your internal IT person or team a full bench behind them: help with escalations, security tools and monitoring, backup, projects, vacation coverage and after-hours help when you need it. They stay your front line and keep their day-to-day knowledge of the practice, and you stop depending on one person for everything.

Managed IT services

Fairoaks IT provides managed IT, cybersecurity and HIPAA compliance support for healthcare practices throughout Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC metro area, from offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC. We’ve been independent and owner-led since 1991, we won the Soteria Award for Most Trusted MSP in North America, we sign business associate agreements, and CEO Adam Crossley leads our healthcare work.

Healthcare IT in Massachusetts and Rhode Island  |  Healthcare IT in the Charlotte, NC area

Medical practices and specialty clinics, dental offices, behavioral health and counseling practices, physical therapy, orthotics and prosthetics, and yes, even animal and veterinary healthcare. Veterinary practices aren’t covered by HIPAA, but they hold plenty of client and payment information worth protecting, and their practice software needs the same care.

Software we support

Most slowdowns come from the pieces around the EHR: aging computers, a congested network, weak Wi-Fi in exam rooms, an overdue server or an internet connection that’s too small. Keep computers on a replacement schedule, monitor the network and internet, put a backup internet connection in place if your EHR is cloud-based, and schedule updates outside patient hours. We also work directly with your EHR vendor when the problem is on their side.

Software we support

With the right preparation, a bad day instead of a closed practice. That takes backups stored where ransomware can’t reach them and tested regularly, a recovery plan that says how fast your EHR and practice data come back, written downtime procedures so the front desk and clinicians can keep seeing patients, and support that starts fast. Fairoaks IT’s average time to start on a support issue is under 12 minutes.

Get the breach response checklist in our guide

It depends on your software and your practice. Cloud systems like athenahealth take servers off your plate but depend on a reliable internet connection. Many dental and specialty systems, like Dentrix, Eaglesoft and Open Dental, often run on an office server, which needs proper backup, security and replacement planning. Some vendors offer hosted versions too. We lay out the options, costs and security trade-offs side by side.

Cloud computing

Carefully, and on their own network segment. Imaging systems and other devices often run older software that can’t be updated as easily as office computers, so separating them limits what an attacker or a virus can reach. Vendor remote access should be controlled and turned on only when it’s needed. We document every connected device and coordinate with your device vendors when something needs their expertise.

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With company-managed devices, secure remote access and multi-factor authentication on every login, so patient information never lives on personal computers. Multi-location practices get the same standards everywhere: the same network design, security tools and support team, with each location connected securely to your EHR and phones.

Managed IT services

Fairoaks IT provides live support during business hours, with after-hours support available for emergencies, and our average time to start on a support issue is under 12 minutes. For practices with early, late or weekend hours, we plan ahead: monitoring that flags problems overnight, clear instructions for staff, and an agreed process for urgent issues.

How our support works

The HIPAA Security Rule requires administrative, physical and technical safeguards for electronic patient information. In practice that means a risk analysis, security policies, workforce training, access controls so people only see what they need, audit controls, protection against tampering, secure transmission, contingency planning with backups, and business associate agreements with vendors who handle patient data. It all needs to be documented and kept current.

HIPAA, done right

A security risk analysis identifies where patient information lives in your practice, the threats and weaknesses that could expose it, and how you’re addressing each one. HIPAA requires it, and it’s the first document regulators ask for after a breach. The current rule doesn’t set a fixed schedule, but it should be reviewed regularly and whenever your systems change; most practices review it yearly. We perform risk analyses and help you act on what they find.

Get the risk analysis starter checklist in our guide

A major update has been proposed but not finalized. In December 2024, HHS proposed making protections like multi-factor authentication and encryption mandatory, and adding requirements like an asset inventory, vulnerability scanning and penetration testing. As of fall 2026 it hadn’t been finalized, and HHS now targets July 2027 for final action. The current rule is what’s enforced today, but the proposed protections are good practice now.

Where the update stands

Act fast and follow your written plan. Under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, affected patients must be notified without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 days after discovery. Breaches affecting 500 or more people must also be reported to HHS within 60 days, along with notice to prominent media when 500 or more residents of a state are affected; smaller breaches are reported to HHS annually. State breach laws can add their own requirements.

Get the breach response checklist in our guide

Yes, with the right safeguards. HIPAA allows it, but messages containing patient information should be encrypted, and patients should be told about the risks if they ask for unencrypted messages. Use a patient portal or secure messaging for anything sensitive, require multi-factor authentication on staff email, and write down the rules so everyone follows them the same way. Our guide includes a patient email and texting policy starter.

Get the policy starter in our guide

No. HIPAA protects human health information, so animal records aren’t covered. But veterinary practices still hold client names, addresses and payment information, and state data security and breach laws can apply to it. The same protections, like multi-factor authentication, backups and staff training, make sense either way.

Software we support

Yes. We help practices create the written HIPAA security policies they need and set up an easy way for every employee to acknowledge them. Staff security training and phishing simulations are part of most of our plans, so your team learns to spot the emails that cause most breaches.

HIPAA, done right

Because patient records are valuable, and practices can’t afford downtime. A practice that can’t see patients is under enormous pressure to pay a ransom, and health records can be sold or used for identity and insurance fraud. The 2024 Change Healthcare attack also showed how one breach at a vendor can disrupt practices nationwide. The defense is layered: multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, email filtering, tested backups and trained staff.

Managed security services

Multi-factor authentication on email, the EHR and remote access; encryption on laptops and in transit; endpoint protection on every computer and server; email filtering; security updates on a schedule; backups stored where ransomware can’t reach them and test-restored; staff training with phishing simulations; medical devices on their own network segment; and regular reviews of who has access to what.

HIPAA, done right

Remove access the day someone leaves, from every system: the EHR, email, practice management, patient portal, remote access and shared accounts. When people change roles, adjust their access to match. Shared logins at the front desk make it impossible to know who did what, so give each person their own. Our guide includes a staff onboarding and offboarding checklist.

Get the checklist in our guide

Only tools approved for patient data, which generally means a business-grade tool covered by a business associate agreement. Free and personal AI accounts may keep what your team types in, so patient names, records and images should never go into them. A short AI use policy should name the approved tools, list what never goes in and say who to ask first.

Talk to us about AI tools

Most carriers ask about the same core controls: multi-factor authentication on email and remote access, endpoint detection and response, backups that are offline or can’t be altered and are tested, security awareness training and timely patching. Many overlap with HIPAA’s safeguards, so one well-run program can satisfy both. Make sure every yes on the application is true. Your insurance agent has the final word on your policy.

Managed security services

It depends on how many people and devices you support, how many locations you have, your imaging and device needs, your compliance requirements and how much is included in the monthly fee versus billed separately. Most providers price per user or per device each month, with onboarding and projects quoted separately. Compare what’s included, not just the total. Our IT Buyer’s Guide explains the pricing models and the contract terms to watch for.

Get the free IT Buyer’s Guide (PDF)

A good plan lists both clearly. Monthly plans typically include support for your users, monitoring and maintenance, security tools, backup and Microsoft 365 management. Hardware, software licenses, EHR subscriptions and larger projects, like a server replacement, a new location or a risk analysis, are usually quoted separately. Ask every provider for their exclusions in writing. At Fairoaks IT, we explain all costs up front, so there are no hidden fees or surprise invoices.

What you can count on

Many managed IT agreements run for multiple years, which locks in your rate and gives your provider reason to invest in your environment. What matters is what happens if things aren’t working, so ask every provider two questions: what happens if you don’t deliver, and how are price increases handled? Get both answers in writing. At Fairoaks IT, ours are spelled out in our agreement, and we’ll walk you through every page before you sign.

What you can count on

With a plan built around your schedule. A good transition starts with a signed business associate agreement, then documents every system, password, license and vendor, including your EHR, imaging and phones, before a coordinated handoff from your current provider. Changes happen outside patient hours. Urgent risks like backups and multi-factor authentication get fixed first. Fairoaks IT assigns a point of contact and holds weekly check-ins until onboarding is complete.

How working with us starts

We review your network, servers, computers, EHR setup, imaging and front-desk devices, Microsoft 365, backups and security with our proprietary 27-point assessment, and look at where your HIPAA risk analysis and policies stand. You get a plain-English summary of what’s working, what’s at risk and what to fix first. No scare tactics, just facts. It starts with a discovery call.

Schedule a discovery call

If you have around 10 or more people on computers every day, or patient care stops when technology does, managed IT usually makes sense. Smaller practices carry the same HIPAA obligations as large ones, and a single breach or outage can hurt a small practice more. A short discovery call is the fastest way to know.

Schedule a discovery call