Keeping your medical equipment working 24/7 is crucial to providing patients with the care they need during these times. In terms of medical equipment, the most versatile and useful may be medical grade computers. Medical grade computers, like the Medix M24T from Tangent, are designed from the ground up for medical use.

Sanitizable Computers For 24/7 Use

While the current situation the world faces is unprecedented, the healthcare industry has stepped up to make sure that the world remains as safe as possible. Hospitals around the country have made due with limited supplies as supplies of PPE. Working around the clock, hospitals and healthcare workers have stepped up to the plate and are working 24/7 to test individuals and treat patients. With hospitals and healthcare workers working 24/7, shouldn’t the equipment they use also work 24/7?

Medical Grade Computers For 24/7 Use

Keeping your medical equipment working 24/7 is crucial to providing patients with the care they need during these times. In terms of medical equipment, the most versatile and useful may be medical grade computers. Medical grade computers, like the Medix M24T from Tangent, are designed from the ground up for medical use.

 

Medical PC
               Medical Grade 24″ Computer

Medical grade computers feature an antimicrobial enclosure which mitigates the growth of microbes on their surfaces. Furthermore, they make use of features like their uninterrupted battery storage (UPS) to operate even when hospitals do not have power. This allows medical grade computers to be fully usable in emergency situations.

Sanitizable Computers For 24/7 Use

Note every medical grade computer is made equal. The Medix T24B sanitizable computer from Tangent is unlike other medical grade computers in that it is a fully sanitizable computer. A Sanitizable computer is a medical grade computer that features an IP certified water resistant screen. The IP65 rating of the Medix T24B sanitizable computer allows it to be regularly cleaned with traditional cleaners and disinfectants without harming the medical grade computer.

Medix T24B
                             Medix T24B

Sanitizable computers are perfect for situations where multiple medical personnel are interacting with the same medical grade computer, as it can be constantly disinfected.

 

Hot-Swap Batteries: No Plug Required

While all of Tangent’s medical grade computers are designed to be used as fully as needed in the hospital, some are designed even past this point. As more pop-up clinics, mobile clinics, and field hospitals are set up, there may not be adequate power in these areas to support medical grade computer usage. However, with hot-swap battery technology, even areas without power can make use of medical grade computers and sanitizable computers.

Medix E22B From Tangent
                Medix E22B From Tangent

The Medix E22B sanitizable computer from Tangent features three hot-swap batteries, allowing it to run 24/7 without being plugged into an outlet. Simply have two batteries charging while one is in use, and this sanitizable computer can be fully utilized in a remote setting.

 

For 24/7 Use, Use Tangent

When sanitizable computers are needed to operate on a 24/7 basis, Tangent medical grade computers are the right pick. With hot-swap battery technology, IP rated water resistant screens, and UPS capabilities, medical grade computers from Tangent are here to help.

Tangent is a leading supplier of medical grade computers. Sanitizable computers help prevent infections in hospitals.

Major players in the healthcare industry, both private and public, are preparing for telehealth. Telehealth with medical computers has proven to be an effective way of social distancing, and could potentially save lives. Make sure that your hospital takes advantage of all the programs available, and implements this crucial technology.

Telehealth Computers: How to Effectively Set Up Your Hospital

In these times, it is becoming increasingly risky to have healthy patients enter hospitals where they can easily become disease vectors. Because of this, many hospitals are transitioning doctor visits to telehealth visits. Telehealth refers to medical computer based doctor visits, where a doctor uses a medical computer to video-chat with their patient. Telehealth has seen such a rise in the last few weeks that the industry is having trouble keeping up with demand, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With this in mind, it is more important than ever to have this critical technology implemented in your hospital as soon as possible. Like personal protective equipment, telehealth using medical computers is a preventive measure to ensure those in your community and hospital remain healthy.

Telehealth Is Easier Than Ever

One of the main obstacles for telehealth is the seemingly tough challenge of implementing the technology. Because of the amount of regulations regarding medical data, using video-chat has been clouded by a barrier of laws. However, the Department of Health and Human Services has temporarily lifted many of these restrictions.

Video services like Zoom, Facetime, and Skype have all been given temporary approval for use during these times. Many other medical specific services such as VSee, Doxy, thera-Link, and Amazon Chime are available as well. Many of these telehealth services can be downloaded directly onto HIPPA compliant, medical grade computers.

Inform Patients That Telehealth Costs May Be Waived By Their Insurance

You read that right, insurance companies like Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield have announced that they are suspending co-pays for telehealth appointments. Both of these insurance companies see the life-saving potential of telehealth appointments on medical computers.

As jobless claims in the United States surge, it is more important than ever to inform your service area of these telehealth services. Cost and fear of the current situation may prohibit patients from seeking help. Telehealth on medical computers can offer these patients a free and worry-free way to get the help they need.

Federal Funding For Telehealth Is On The Way

FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced a $200 million plan that if passed, would allocate money to healthcare facilities for implementing telehealth. If passed, this would greatly reduce the costs for hospitals to implement this life-saving technology. In addition, the plan calls assures those on government aided internet plans that they will not be cut off during these times. This means that those in the most need will have access to telehealth, so long as their local hospital does.

Everyone is Preparing For Telehealth, Are You?

Major players in the healthcare industry, both private and public, are preparing for telehealth. Telehealth with medical computers has proven to be an effective way of social distancing, and could potentially save lives. Make sure that your hospital takes advantage of all the programs available, and implements this crucial technology.

Tangent is a leading supplier of medical grade computers. Sanitizable computers help prevent infections in hospitals.

The utilization of hot-swap battery technology on medical grade computers such as the Medix E22B and E24B allows these medical grade computers to run on a 24/7 continuous basis without needing to be plugged into an outlet. This seemingly simple technology provides an elegant solution to the lack of reliable power in pop up and mobile clinics, allowing the use of full medical grade computers.

Sanitizable Computers Designed For Pop Up And Mobile Clinics

Sanitizable Computers Designed For Pop Up And Mobile Clinics

Burlingame, CA 3/27/20 – As the world comes together to stave off the coronavirus pandemic, Tangent Computer Inc. has repurposed medical computers in their medical grade computer lineup to be fully usable by pop up and mobile clinics in order to ensure these facilities are fully equipped to deal with this pandemic.

Pop up and Mobile clinics are designed to be placed where they are most needed and may end up in locations without adequate shelter or power, such as parking lots. Tangent has taken this into account in their thinking of how to best serve medical workers on the front line of this coronavirus pandemic and has created two solutions.

In order to provide the safest possible working environment for medical workers at coronavirus pop up and mobile clinics, Tangent has designed their lineup of medical grade computers to be fully sanitizable. The touchscreens of Tangent’s medical grade computers are able to be cleaned with traditional cleaning materials without any damage to their screens. In addition to being fully santiziable, Tangent medical grade computers feature an antimicrobial enclosure for maximum sterilization.

The utilization of hot-swap battery technology on medical grade computers such as the Medix E22B and E24B allows these medical grade computers to run on a 24/7 continuous basis without needing to be plugged into an outlet. This seemingly simple technology provides an elegant solution to the lack of reliable power in pop up and mobile clinics, allowing the use of full medical grade computers.

Tangent hopes that these two solutions, when combined, allow their lineup of medical grade computers to be a reliable tool for medical workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.

As the number of U.S. cases of coronavirus rise, Tangent hopes to help stock pop up and mobile clinics with the equipment they need in order to combat this pandemic. Hospitals are already working 24/7 to deal with the impact of the coronavirus, and Tangent wants to help by providing medical grade computers that can operate 24/7 in a sanitary fashion.

Tangent. is a leading provider for healthcare technology, specialized computers, and cloud solutions. Our purpose-built computers are engineered for healthcare, industrial, and corporate applications not served by traditional computers. Products include medical grade all-in-one computers and tablets, mini rugged computers, and all-in-one panel PCs. Contact us at 800.342.9388 for any inquiries.

What Does "Medical Grade" Mean?

What Does “Medical Grade” Mean?

You may see the term “Medical Grade” floated along by many manufacturers these days in your search for proper medical equipment. Everyone, from dentist chair manufacturers to medical grade computer manufacturers, lays claim to the term, implying that their product meets the true definition. While there is no central body that organizes the term “Medical Grade” and assigns it accordingly, there are some key elements that hospital supply buyers should look out for in their medical purchases. Most notably, the term “Medical Grade” when applied to computers should be scrutinized. Your Medical Grade Computer purchases should meet the following criteria:

 

UL60601 Certified

It almost goes without saying that any medical computers you purchases should be UL60601 Certified, but it is still worth mentioning. Among other things, this certification ensures that any Medical Grade Computers purchased by your hospital meet safety standards set by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC has set these guidelines to ensure that electrical equipment, such as medical grade computers, does not interfere with other medical technology used in proximity to it.

 

Medical Grade Computers Should Be Antimicrobial

Aside from UL60601 certification, ensuring that every medical grade computer purchased for your hospital is antimicrobial is the most important aspect to the meaning of being medical grade. Antimicrobial medical grade computers feature an antimicrobial coating. This coating makes the medical grade computer impervious to bacteria and other pathogens, mitigating their growth on its surfaces. When a medical grade computer features antimicrobial properties, it is as if the medical grade computer is constantly sanitizing itself with antibacterial wipes. This feature is an absolute necessity in a time where hospital acquired infections are so prevalent.

 

Backup Battery Enabled

Hospitals are facilities designed to treat both common colds and emergencies. When the latter happens, the equipment your hospital uses will need to be depended upon. Ensuring that the medical grade computers your hospital relies on can, in fact, be relied on is key to preventing potentially dangerous conditions for your patients. Medical grade computers with either hot-swap battery technology or uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) prevent your hospital’s computer network from going out when the power does.

 

Medical Grade: Tangent Meets The Mark

“Medical Grade” is so much more than a term, it’s a commitment. Tangent has pioneered this commitment and designed medical grade computers that constantly push the idea of “Medical Grade” further and further. Each one of Tangent’s numerous Medical Grade Computers meets or exceeds the standards listed above. It is this commitment to the Medical Grade that makes Tangent the top innovator of medical grade computer technology.

Around the clock urgent in the hospital demands medical grade pcs for 24/7 use

Medical All-In-One PCs for 24/7 Use

As one of the most trusted public services, healthcare facilities have an obligation to serve those in their community. Health emergencies can happen at any time, and as such hospitals are expected to be open 24/7. While medical staff can be shifted so that the hospital is constantly staffed and prepared for emergencies, the same cannot be said about the equipment they employ. Ensuring that your hospital has technology capable of being used on a 24/7 basis is crucial to providing quality healthcare to those in your community.

How To Keep Your Medical Carts Running 24/7

Medical carts with medical computers are one of the most important facets of any hospital. Medical carts with medical computers are capable of turning a stationary piece of medical equipment into a mobile workstation for use in multiple rooms of a hospital. However, medical carts with medical computers have one downfall: they need to be decommissioned regularly for charging. Medical carts can spend hours every day plugged into the wall instead of helping patients. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With medical computers from Tangent, your medical carts can operate on a 24/7 basis. Medical computers like the E24B from Tangent utilize hot-swap battery technology. While one battery is in use, two others can be charging. When the in-use battery gets low, simply insert another battery into one of the other two battery ports and the medical computer is completely recharge, all without being turned off!

Medix E24B From Tangent
                   Medix E24B From Tangent

Medical All-In-One PCs

Another way to ensure your facility’s medical computers are able to operate 24/7 is to make sure they are medical all-in-one PCs. Medical all-on-one PCs are medical grade computers where the entire computer contained behind their touchscreen. That means that medical all-in-one PCs like the Medix C19 from Tangent do not require mice or keyboards to operate. In addition, medical all-in-one PCs have the least amount of moving parts possible, driving down the amount of maintenance necessary substantially. Medical all-in-one PCs also can feature hot-swap battery technology, allowing them to be moved from one room to another without being unplugged and turned off. In an emergency, medical all-in-one PCs can also make use of their UPS battery backups to ensure that life-saving care can continue even without external power.

Medix C19 From Tangent
           Medix C19 From Tangent

24/7 U.S. Based Technical Support for Medical All-In-One PCs

Just like how your hospital operates 24/7, Tangent’s U.S. based technical support team is available 24/7. Tangent’s trained technical support operatives are knowledgeable about all tangent medical computer and medical all-in-one PC products. With remote assist tools, advance exchange services, and image pre-loading, Tangent’s U.S. based technical support team will find a solution to your issue. 

Medical Computers From Tangent: Built For 24/7 Use

Hospitals are designed to run around the clock, and the computers they employ should be too. Medical computers from Tangent are built to be used 24/7, ensuring your hospital provides the quality care your patients depend on, day and night.

 

Medical Grade Computers For Operating Room Use

Fanless Medical Computers For Operating Room Use

Of the 27 million surgeries performed every year in the United States, 5% result in a Surgical site infection (SSI). A SSI is labeled as such when an infection occurs within 30 days of surgery or within one year of a foreign object being implanted in the body. While this number may seem low, the 5% amounts to 1.35 million SSIs per year. These infections can cause serious detriment to patients, longer hospitals stays, and even drastic healthcare costs to the hospital treating said patient. Reducing the amount of SSIs in your hospital can lead to decreased costs, fewer repeat patients, and a healthier workplace.

 

 

How To Reduce Surgical Site Infections In The Hospital

While it is nearly impossible to create a perfectly sterile environment to perform surgeries in, there are promising remedies that can help reduce the amount of SSI causing bacteria in the operating room. One remedy is the use of fanless medical computers. Fanless medical computers are medical computers that do not feature fan-based cooling systems. Instead, they employ passive cooling systems that work just as good, if not better than, fan-based cooling systems.

 

The main benefit of fanless medical computers is that since they do not require outside air be brought in as a coolant, they can have fully enclosed casings. This means that most fanless medical computers are water resistant in addition to being fanless. It also means that no there is no dust build up in the medical computer. This is important because dust buildup in medical computers can lead to the creation of bacteria breeding grounds. We all know that bacteria love warm places, and what better place for bacteria to thrive than in the heatsink of a fan constantly circulating warm air and organic dust particles. Fanless medical computers completely eliminate this festering possibility, leading to a much safer and cleaner medical computer.

 

 

Fanless Medical Computers Are Antimicrobial

 

In addition to being rid of a breeding ground for bacteria, fanless medical computers from Tangent are antimicrobial computers. The touchscreen of every Tangent fanless medical computer features an antimicrobial coating with mitigates the growth of bacteria on its surface. So in addition to not creating a breeding ground for bacteria, fanless medical computers also eliminate any bacteria growth on their surfaces. This one-two punch makes fanless medical computers the perfect medical computers for operating room use, as they can drastically reduce the bacteria present in the room and reduce the likelihood of a SSI from occurring.

 

 

Fanless Medical Computers: Perfect For The Operating Room

Every year, 1.35 million SSIs occur. These SSIs are not only a detriment to the wellbeing of the afflicted patient, but to the hospital serving them. Fanless medical grade computers from Tangent can help reduce the likelihood of these infections from every occurring, saving hospitals time and money and saving patients from further suffering.

Medical Grade Computers For Emergency Room Use

Medical Computers For Emergency Room Use

In 2016, U.S. emergency rooms treated 145.6 million Americans for their emergency conditions according to the Center for Disease Control. This number has been steadily rising since the 1990s, and can be expected to continue increasing with each passing year. With such a high demand for emergency services, it is important to keep your hospital’s emergency room as up to date as possible. With the latest medical computers at your physician’s side, emergency room wait times can drastically decrease and patients can get the life-saving care they need.

Medix E22B | E24B

E22B and E24B from Tangent: built for emergency room use
E22B and E24B from Tangent: built for emergency room use

The Medix line of medical computers from Tangent are some of the most valuable assets that an emergency room can contain. With a wide touchscreen, busy emergency room personnel can quickly input a patient’s data and get right to helping them. Unlike other computers, the Medix E22B does not quit. With hot-swap battery technology, the Medix E22B can be safely unplugged from a wall outlet and still operate normally. In an emergency situation, the last thing you want to be worrying about is how to transfer medical data around with a patient. The Meddix E22B allows doctors to unplug their medical computer and follow their patient with the same data they admitted them with.

Medix T24B

The T24B with Hot-Swap batteries for Emergency Room use
The T24B with Hot-Swap batteries for Emergency Room use

The Medix T24B from Tangent features the same hot-swap battery technology as the Medix E22b, also with three built in slots for batteries. This allows the Medix T24B to not only access the power of three batteries at once, but continuously run 24/7 without being plugged in. The Medix T24B is perfect for medical carts that are constantly in demand and cannot afford to be put out of commission for charging. With 6th generation Intel processors, this medical computer is as fast as it is reliable and can handle any medical program thrown at it.

Medix KW 15

Medical grade computer for emergency room us, the KW line from Tangent
Medical grade computer for emergency room use, the KW 15 from Tangent

As hospital emergency rooms become increasingly more crowded, every square inch of space will become ever more valuable. That’s why smaller medical computers such as the Medix KW 15 are a vital tool for any emergency room. While examination and surgery rooms can afford the luxury of a widescreen medical computer, the same may not be true for emergency rooms. The Medix KW 15 features all the power of a traditional medical computer but in a sleeker, smaller package. This allows doctors more space to treat patients, while still maintaining the computational power needed to do their job to the fullest. 

Reduce Emergency Room Times With Medical Computers

With emergency room wait times only expected to rise, the time to plan for a crowded emergency waiting room is now. Medical computers from Tangent can help reduce wait times, improve emergency room computing power, and help those truly in need of help.

Medical computers by Tangent are also Antimicrobial computers

The Importance Of Antimicrobial Medical PCs

We all like to think of hospitals as places in society where people go to get healthier, and for the most part this is true. However, this is not always the case as hospitals can inadvertently become breeding grounds for harmful diseases. The CDC estimates that each and every day, 1 in 31 hospitals will see a healthcare-associated infection (HAI).

Coinciding with a decrease in the viability of antibiotics, HAIs can turn hospitals into hazardous areas for those who are prone to infection. Often, these same individuals are the ones most in need of a hospital’s services. So what can be done?

Antimicrobial Computers Offer A Compelling Solution

While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to HAIs, antimicrobial computers offer one way to minimize the risk of such infections from occurring. Antimicrobial computers are medical computers that are coated with an antimicrobial treatment. This coating causes the medical computer to be deadly to harmful bacteria, much like how the natural properties of copper make the metal germ-phobic. Typically, every medical computer is an antimicrobial computer, but it is important to check beforehand if this is the case. Luckily, at Tangent all of our medical computers are antimicrobial computers and UL60601-Certified.

Are Antimicrobial Computers Safe?

Antimicrobial computers are not only safe, they are some of the safest medical computers out there. Their antimicrobial coating prevents bacteria from breeding and growing on the medical computer’s surface without being harmful to doctors and patients. Antimicrobial computers are perfectly safe to touch, which is one of the reasons why Tangent’s lineup of medical grade computers are all touchscreen enabled. This allows doctors to use these antimicrobial computers without worrying about the bacteria on their hands. Unlike computers reliant on mice and keyboards, antimicrobial medical computers will not become breeding grounds for bacteria.

Are Antimicrobial Computers Easy To Clean?

Not only are antimicrobial computers easy to clean, they are built to be cleaned! While other computers and computer monitors require specialty cleaning agents in order to not be damaged, antimicrobial medical computers are able to be cleaned with traditional cleaning supplies. Regular cleaning does not remove the antimicrobial coating either, ensuring that these medical computers last well past their warranty. What’s more, antimicrobial computers mitigate the growth of harmful bacteria on their surface, meaning that with a cleaning they become nearly germ free.

Antimicrobial Computers: Reduce Your HAIs

If reducing the amount of HAIs in your hospital is a priority, then antimicrobial medical computers may be the solution you are looking for. These advanced medical computers come in various sizes and styles, and can quickly and easily become an indispensable tool for your facility.

 

Medical Tablets

The Importance Of Digital Health Records

In no other field is staying on the edge of technology as important as it is in the medical field. Each day, new advances in medical technology are helping people live longer, happier lives. While some technology can assist in diagnosing, patient care, or even surgery, we should not overlook the clerical side of technology that is making hospital paperwork far more efficient. 

 

According to a study commissioned by Phillips on future health, 80% of medical professionals have shared information electronically and 76% utilize digital health records (DHRs) on their medical grade PCs. However, despite this large DHR utilization, only 57% report that having full access to a patient’s DHR has positively impacted them. With the disparity between these two statistics, it’s important to address the lack of enthusiasm surrounding the widespread implementation of DHR use.

 

Ditch The Pen And Paper

While DHRs are quickly becoming the de facto method of patient information storage, sometimes vital information is left out unintentionally. When doctors take pen and paper notes, or rely on scribes to take notes for them, they create valuable insight into a patient’s life. What they eat, their allergies, their daily routines; all things that can directly affect their health. However, there is no guarantee that these hard copy notes will ever be digitized, and potentially life saving details can be left out of the DHR. Encourage your medical staff to fully utilize their medical grade PC when taking notes to ensure that all patient information is digitized. Many medical grade PCs and medical panel PCs come equipped with a front facing camera, so in the event a staff member does write down crucial information, it can be easily added to the patient’s DHR.

 

Easy Information Access

While professional medical staff may find DHRs easy to use when they have them, they may be off put by how difficult they are to find. Medical panel PCs with smartcard readers and RFID technology can rectify this problem by allowing professional medical staff to safely and securely store the pathing to patient information, without having to worry about memorizing the correct way to get to the patient’s information. The same smartcard technology can be used to allow professional medical staff to login to their medical panel PC or medical grade PC without having to remember a long and complex password, saving them from a potential headache and call to I.T. The RFID technology utilized by medical grade PC’s can also be used to track medical equipment that is shuffled around the hospital, allowing for every item to be accounted for.

 

Ease Of Access

It’s no secret that some people are averse to technology, but that does not mean we can’t make them more comfortable with it in the workplace. Medical panel PCs are medical grade PCs that feature a sleek, all in one design. That means that they can function as fully fledged medical grade PCs without needing a bulky tower, keyboard, mouse, or separate monitor. Simply plug them in, and they are good to go. The simplicity of medical panel PCs’ design and their robust features such as smartcard readers and RFID technology means that they are sure to raise professional medical staff’s mood towards the digital side of their job. Medical grade PCs are built for the medical world, and can make medical staff’s use of DHRs far more positive.

medical computer safety

Keeping Your Hospital Safe From Hackers and Malware

Many of us seldom think about who—or what— is watching us as we browse the internet. Many websites make use of cookies, which are snippets of code that help keep track of data such as passwords or shopping cart items while you browse the site. While cookies are mostly harmless, similar technologies can be deployed to mine your personal data to gain access to your not only your personal, but work accounts. Keeping your and your staff’s personal data safe on hospital medical computers is crucial to preventing system-wide hacks that can lead to extortion, or worse.

How Do Hackers Infiltrate Medical Computer Networks?

While it’s fun to think of hackers as super-smart, leather trench coat wearing folks sitting behind multiple monitors smashing away at keyboards, the reality of hacking is that many hackers rely on their victim’s human errors. Phishing emails, short and easy-to-guess passwords, and outdated software can turn one medical computer on your network into a hacker’s playground.

 

  • Phishing emails are designed to appear as legitimate emails, often giving off the impression of being sent by a supervisor, IT, or even a friend. These emails typically give a long, contriving explanation as to why certain sensitive data needs to be sent to the phisher immediately. Users of medical computers who are not trained to detect such emails are lured into the false urgency of the email, and send off their personal information without thinking about who it is going to. 
  • There are many misconceptions about passwords, namely that having difficult, complex passwords is the best way to protect your data. While complexity is a factor of how hard a password is for hackers to guess, it often leads to personnel forgetting their passwords to their medical computers and having to constantly reset them.
  • Outdated software on your medical computers constitutes one of the easiest backdoors that hackers have into your network. Outdated software is susceptible due to hackers having more time to figure out how to hack into the software, and being able to use the same method across multiple medical computers.

 

What Damage Can Hackers Do To Medical Computer Networks?

Simply put: it’s a hacker’s world, we’re just living in it. Charles Henderson, global head of IBM’s hacking unit X-Force Red, took to the stage at this year’s Blackhat cybersecurity conference and hacked an ATM, turning it into a cash dispenser in just a few minutes. If a computer exists, it can be hacked and likewise, your medical computers can be hacked. But it’s not just medical computers either, even pacemakers or insulin pumps can be hacked by nefarious folk.

 

While the prospect of patient’s life saving apparatus suddenly being disabled by deviants is justifiably terrifying, most hackers aren’t out to cause such chaos. Instead, they are after one thing: money. Hackers have taken to infiltrating hospital’s medical computer networks, and locking down all files until a ransom is paid. This ransom takes form in the form of untraceable bitcoin, allowing for the hackers to make a clean getaway without ever having set foot in your hospital. Hancock Health was forced to pay hackers $55,000 in 2018 in order to re-access their files that hackers had encrypted and held for ransom. 

 

Preventing Medical Computer Hacking

It’s more than likely that your hospital would not like to pay hackers for access to your own medical computers. Preventing hackers from infiltrating your medical computer network is not as simple as we may like to think, but there are certain ways you can stay one step ahead of the dark web. 

  • Hold Trainings

The easiest way to prevent medical grade computer breaches is to train your medical staff to recognize the various ways that they are constantly under cyber-attack. Medical grade computers are hot-beds for attacks from all angles such as phishing. There are multiple courses, as well as DIY seminars that can teach your staff how to recognize phishing emails, and how to handle them properly. Never ask your staff for any personal information via email, and inform them that any such requests will take place in person. The urgency suggested by phishing emails may cause staff to panic and forget to check who is sending them such emails, but if they know that supervisors would never ask for such information via email they can handle the situation properly.

  • Better Passwords

Complex passwords are a good way of keeping your medical grade computers safe, but they lead to confusion and wasted time by staff trying to remember their logins. Try having your medical staff use passphrases to login to their medical grade computers instead. Passphrases are simply long, easy to remember sentences that staff can use as a password for their medical grade computer that would take a hacker literal centuries to crack. An example would be using “thisismygreatpasswordthaticanremember” instead of “password”.

  • Update Medical Grade Computer Software

If you haven’t updated your medical grade computer’s software in a while, the best time is yesterday. Medical grade computers have to run many different software packages, and while it may be a pain to keep every single one updated, it is crucial to your medical grade computer’s integrity.

 

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to keeping your medical grade computer network safe. Only a trained and aware medical staff can help keep hacking risks to a minimum. Medical grade computers are only as capable as their users, and keeping your users informed is the best practice.