Securing your application infrastructure (7 tips) | Blog

At many healthcare institutions, the healthcare applications already run on Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): a cloud service where you use the IT infrastructure of an external party. However, the challenge for healthcare institutions is to land the entire application landscape 100% securely on IaaS. Certainly when an application is already running on-premise and has generated data. In this blog we therefore give healthcare institutions 7 tips to safely land the application infrastructure on an IaaS service.

Which healthcare applications deserve extra attention?

PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) applications and EHRs (electronic patient records) deserve extra attention. These healthcare applications place high demands on an IaaS environment, both in terms of security and technology. In both cases, it is extremely important that the privacy of medical and personal data is guaranteed.

1. Make sure you use (external) specialists

You need specialists to manage an IaaS environment and to host applications. However, in the tight IT market it is difficult to find them. IT professionals are scarce and technological developments are moving fast. That is why in many cases it is better to outsource the housing of applications to an external specialist.

2. Hybrid

Are you coming from an existing situation? Then start with a hybrid form. Such a construction spreads the risk and removes concerns from a director or IT manager more quickly.

3. Connectivity

Connectivity is an important point of attention when landing applications on an IaaS structure without any worries. Make sure you properly map the data flows within the organization and think carefully about the blueprint of your architecture.

4. Security and Access Policy

Meet security standards through a combination of physical security tools and access and role policies.

5. Support Level

The inside knowledge in the field of technology is sometimes lacking in healthcare institutions. In that case, it is important to choose an IaaS partner that provides a high level of support.

6. Certification

Does the IT company that helps you migrate applications to an IaaS environment also have the right certifications? Think of ISO certifications, NEN certificates at organizational level and the certification level of individual employees.

7. Backup

An IT company can also unexpectedly go bankrupt. Having a good exit strategy is therefore crucial. In addition, it is also essential to make good backups on a regular basis from a disaster recovery point of view.