With the spread of COVID-19, strict new social distancing and shelter-in-place policies, the practice of working remotely and implementing applications that limit in-person interaction have become the new norm.

Hospitals and health systems are now struggling with project managing the IT infrastructural challenges created by the sudden massive demand for remote technology to cope with the global crisis.

Many of these providers have made an important decision: To replace traditional office visits and other in-person services with telemedicine and virtual checkups to limit the spread of the virus. That is all well and good, but we’re still in the early stages of this technological ramping up: Are they really prepared for bandwidth and other IT challenges coming in the long run?

We have all heard officials at the local, state or federal level say that our country – and the world – is entering “uncharted new territory” because of COVID-19 and that uncharted territory leads to the kinds of uncertainties that will cause many leadership teams to misunderstand their IT needs and priorities.

For many years, T2 Tech Group has operated within the spaces created by disruptions and new technologies. We support executives and their teams during times of uncertainty to make the best, most effective IT decisions for their organizations.

Even with the unprecedented speed of current disruptions, T2 Tech is still more responsive than other firms and can bring value by providing the kinds of IT-related project management and guidance that the health sector needs right now. We can say this with confidence because our methodology is based on a clear, simple point: Conditions in a market or sector can turn on a dime, and your decision-making must be able to do the same thing.

Our methodology is based on an Agile philosophy that is organic and responsive to changing circumstances. Our project management team enters an IT situation that may be rapidly changing—as is happening right now—and uses an approach that is sensitive and highly adaptive at every step of the project process. Our objective is to produce solutions and results that accurately address the situation for your company now, not what it looked like when our team first started the project.

In the weeks—if not days—ahead, as health organizations are scrambling to provide continuity of care and the same high quality of service while keeping clinicians safe and healthy, we see IT challenges arising in numerous areas, including:

  • Bandwidth: As more employees try to log on to the office network from the outside, and as more patients turn to remote options to screen for the virus, will medical providers be ready to handle this surge in users?
  • Security: Do you have FMA or other security measures in place. Having your employees work remotely and not having a secure infrastructure or the necessary governance can increase your risk of cyber attacks.
  • Cybersecurity: With a surge in the number of external users, the risk of phishing emails and other issues related to privacy and security surges, too. What measures have you taken to ensure that your employees and your patients are both protected?
  • Infrastructure Capacity: Do you have enough licenses to support your remote workers? Can your hardware support the additional load Do you have a robust virtual desktop environment?
  • Support: Do you have the governance and capabilities to support all your remote workers, helping them diagnose problems, test their network, and remotely manage their devices.
  • Projects: Are all your projects on hold as your staff deal with supporting your remote employees? Rushing to purchase laptops, upgrade hardware, etc? Don’t let these tasks take you off track of your longer-term goals and projects.

T2 Tech Group is prepared to help hospitals and health systems respond to these issues–and many others–now. Though everything is in flux, the effort to still be proactive in response to IT remains a top consideration.

And if you haven’t read our comprehensive blog on supporting your remote workforce, I invite you to read it here.