A 4-location orthopedic practice in Central New Jersey — 18 providers, 60 clinical and administrative staff, and an EHR platform handling thousands of active patient records.
Locations unified under a single HIPAA-compliant managed IT framework
Endpoints enrolled in endpoint protection and HIPAA-compliant device management within 30 days
Reportable HIPAA security incidents since engagement began
Of IT support tickets resolved within SLA — up from a multi-day average
THE CHALLENGE
Each of the four practice locations had been set up and maintained independently over the years — different computers, different configurations, and no consistent security posture across the group. Two locations ran workstations that hadn’t received security patches in over 18 months. Wi-Fi at the front desk and clinical areas ran on the same flat network, with no segmentation separating patient-facing devices from administrative systems. The EHR was accessible from any device on the network without session controls or audit logging.
When the practice’s compliance officer began preparing for a HIPAA risk assessment, the gap between where they were and where they needed to be became impossible to ignore. Beyond the compliance concern, clinical staff were frustrated: slow systems, inconsistent logins, and no centralized helpdesk meant IT problems were solved by whoever had the most patience, not by an IT professional. The practice needed both a compliance foundation and a reliable day-to-day IT operation — at the same time.
WHAT SOLVED IT DID
HIPAA Risk Assessment & Network Segmentation
We conducted a full HIPAA-aligned IT risk assessment across all four locations — documenting every endpoint, network segment, and data flow. Network segmentation was implemented immediately: clinical workstations, EHR access points, staff devices, and patient Wi-Fi were placed on separate VLANs with firewall rules governing inter-segment traffic.
Endpoint Protection & Device Management
All 60+ endpoints were enrolled in a centralized endpoint management platform with Microsoft Defender for Business providing real-time threat detection. Devices that had gone unpatched for months were brought current and locked under a managed update policy going forward.
EHR Security & Remote Access
We worked with the EHR vendor to configure session timeouts, audit logging, and access controls aligned with HIPAA’s technical safeguard requirements. Remote access for administrative staff was migrated to a HIPAA-compliant VPN with MFA required for every session.
Centralized Helpdesk
A single helpdesk was established for all four locations — one number, one SLA, and full documentation of every IT support interaction for the HIPAA compliance record. Staff now have a consistent, professional IT resource regardless of which location they work from.
The Results
- All 4 locations operating under a single HIPAA-compliant IT framework
- Network segmentation deployed — EHR, clinical, staff, and patient Wi-Fi on separate VLANs
- 60+ endpoints enrolled in endpoint protection with real-time threat monitoring
- Remote access migrated to HIPAA-compliant VPN with MFA for every session
- EHR audit logging and session controls configured per HIPAA technical safeguard requirements
- Centralized helpdesk established — 98% of tickets resolved within SLA
