Your patients trust you to help them stay healthy and safe. To do this you need to make sure your practice’s data is secure, which often includes having a strong data backup plan. While this information may be safe now, nothing is for certain, especially with the rise of cyberthreats and ransomware. Not to mention the plethora of regulations requiring that data be properly backed up. There is so much involved in keeping your patients’ information safe it can be difficult to know where to start.
Not to worry! Data backup doesn’t have to be a headache and can work well for any healthcare practice no matter the size. Follow these four strategies to start backing up your data like a pro today.
Automate Your Backups
The first step to a successful data backup is to create a consistent schedule for your data to be saved. But don’t just make a schedule, automate it so you never miss a backup. It is heartbreaking when your computer crashes and you lose everything because you put off backing it up, the same is doubly true for data in healthcare since losing your patients’ data can also hurt you financially.
You can also schedule these backups to happen at certain times or even multiple times a day. Automated backups can also run no matter what is going on and don’t need to be monitored during this process. This way you can trust that your backed up data is always up to date, and you don’t have to worry about remembering to make it happen, freeing up more time to do your actual job.
Adopt the 3-2-1 Approach
What is the best way to backup your data? On an external hard drive? Or maybe in a cloud backup service? And after you decide that, how many copies should you make? The countless possibilities can be overwhelming, so let’s break them down into one secure data backup method: the 3-2-1 approach.
With the 3-2-1 approach you create three copies of your data, one primary and two backups. Next, you’ll store these copies on two different types of media storage with at least one copy stored off-site. By spreading out your data backups you are ensuring at least one copy will be safe in case of computer failure, natural disaster, or some other problem. The best part of this system? It can also be automated, so the backups are always up to date no matter where they are and you don’t have to worry about additional time strains.
On-Site Backup Solutions
On-site data backups are easily accessible and extremely convenient. If your computer crashes and the data on there is lost, you can find the backup on your location and save valuable time. These on-site solutions could be anything like an external hard drive or a server. While on-site backup is a useful way to store your data it is also susceptible to natural disasters in the same location as the original data. This is why you also need at least one off-site storage method.
Off-Site Backup Solutions
Off-site data backup is an essential part of the 3-2-1 approach. If something happens at your primary location one more copy of your data is safe somewhere else. This type of storage could be a cloud backup, offsite server backup, or a media device like an external hard drive that was simply taken to a new location.
Create a Disaster Recovery Plan
While creating and implementing a strategic data backup plan can protect your practice, it can’t protect you from everything. Disaster will strike and when it does it is imperative that you have a recovery plan in place to mitigate the damage. Disasters can be anything from system failure to malware to destruction from weather, so it’s important to plan ahead.
Start by performing a comprehensive business impact analysis (BIA) like the example report here, to identify your critical systems and determine what would happen if they stopped working. As healthcare professionals, this would be especially distressing for you and your patients. Lessen the time spent worrying and prioritizing the systems you just identified as the most important to your practice and find out what it would take to get them up and running again in case of an emergency.
From here, create a detailed recovery plan with instructions for how to restore your systems and data. Do this now before disaster strikes and while you’re still calm. This way you can look back at this clear plan and know what to do even if you are overwhelmed by the crisis. Regularly update these instructions and share them with relevant personnel so your recovery plan is always up to date, and the right people always know what to do.
Test and Optimize Your Plans
Once you’ve created your data backup and disaster recovery plans you can start testing them to make sure they work. It’s important to do this on a regular basis so your plans are always optimized to deal with anything. Not only do these tests check your plan, but the backup and recovery systems and technologies as well. You never want to be surprised by a piece of equipment failing on you, which is why you must check them every month so you can stay ahead of any mechanical issues. This is time well spent as running these simulations will prepare you for the real thing and minimize stress when things do go wrong.
Protect Your Data with Strong Backup Practices
Your healthcare facility has too much important information to not have the best data backup strategies in place. Don’t risk your patient’s data and trust. Automate your backups and keep multiple copies of your data safe in separate locations. And remember to prepare for the worst with a disaster recovery plan and monthly simulations so you can optimize your data backup systems to be ready for anything.
With stores of data needed to make your practice run smoothly, knowing where and how to start backing up your information can be overwhelming. Strategy IT can help with all of your cybersecurity needs, including creating a proper data backup plan. Book a conversation with us today to learn the best way to monitor your network, backup patient data, and keep your practice safe.
