The healthcare industry is the fastest growing industry in the U.S. economy and it is also the most vulnerable. Ransomware attacks are targeting healthcare organizations with increasing frequency, this is in part a result of the lack of knowledge surrounding cybersecurity best practices across the healthcare sector. A recent study determined that 24% of healthcare workers cannot identify malware on their computers and 18% cannot recognize phishing emails. The healthcare vertical is lucrative for an MSP as most healthcare organizations are not doing enough to protect their organizations.
Why the Healthcare Vertical
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires organizations working in healthcare to secure protected health information (PHI). PHI is any individually identifying health information such as name, date of birth, Social Security number, treatment information, etc. Healthcare organizations have difficulty understanding what they must have in place to protect the sensitive information.
HIPAA law mandates that healthcare organizations, and the vendors that service them, must have “reasonably appropriate measures” to safeguard PHI. However, the law fails to identify what those measures are. This is where an MSP’s expertise comes in handy. Healthcare organizations without a dedicated IT staff have a difficult time navigating cybersecurity practices.
An MSP that offers Compliance-as-a-Solution (CaaS) can service healthcare clients, while differentiating their firm and standardizing their stack. Offering CaaS justifies advanced security solutions, that are often difficult to get clients to adopt, as HIPAA compliance and advanced cybersecurity go hand-in-hand.
How to Enter the Healthcare Vertical
As the majority of new business is the result of word-of-mouth marketing, networking is the best way to enter the healthcare vertical.
- Trade shows and events: speaking at events or trade shows are the best way to get recognition. However, this may not always be possible. Networking or having a booth at these events will give you the chance to speak to potential clients that you usually would not have access to.
- Advertising: select advertising can increase your visibility in the market. However, MSPs without large budgets must be selective in the publications they choose to advertise in to maximize exposure to their target audience.
- Prove your knowledge: the more you know about HIPAA compliance in relation to cybersecurity, the easier it will be to gain clients. In addition, knowing the positive and negative aspects of tech often used in the healthcare field, will prove to potential clients that you are an authority in the healthcare field.
- Free risk assessment: providing a free risk assessment will allow potential clients to see where their cybersecurity practices are lacking. It will also give MSPs the opportunity to demonstrate expertise by showing potential clients how you can fix their gaps in security with specific remediation plans.
- Know products: understanding your product offerings and requiring organizations to deploy the full set of products, allows MSPs to standardize their stack. By offering CaaS, MSPs have the ability to explain to clients why advanced security practices are warranted. Healthcare organizations strive to be HIPAA compliant, without advanced cybersecurity practices, they cannot be compliant and are therefore liable under HIPAA.
Do You Need Help Entering the Healthcare Vertical?
Compliancy Group’s cloud-based software platform the Guard™ gives you the tools you need to change the way you do business. Compliancy Group’s Compliance Coaches™ guide you through our Achieve, Illustrate, Maintain™ methodology, simplifying compliance, enabling you to confidently focus on your business.
Adding Compliance-as-a-Solution (CaaS) to your stack allows you to justify advanced security offerings, enabling you to standardize your stack and differentiate your firm. MSP partners have exclusive access to marketing and sales support teams. You don’t need to know anything about HIPAA compliance to take on healthcare clients, we manage your healthcare clients for you, allowing you to transition from an MSP to a Business Solutions Provider (BSP).
Find out how simple it is to transition to a Business Solutions Provider.
