The American Hospital Association Endorses Information Technology Compliance and Managed Security Services from IP Services

The American Hospital Association (AHA) today announced it has exclusively endorsed Information Technology Compliance and Managed Security Services from IP Services. Following a proprietary due diligence process, AHA Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of the AHA, awards the AHA Endorsement to products and services that help member hospitals and health care organizations achieve operational excellence.

According to the 17th Annual Healthcare’s Most Wired survey by the AHA’s Health Forum and College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, health data security is one of the top priorities of the nation’s hospitals. Hospitals are striving to apply strong privacy and security measures to protect patient information.

IP Services’ Information Technology Compliance and Managed Security Services help hospitals protect patient data by supporting proactive, enterprise-wide integrity verification and security incident and event management, while also helping to reduce IT maintenance time, effort and costs.

The solution’s integrity verification engine for servers and network devices continuously detects in IT systems deviations from a “correct state.” Automatic determination of incorrect system configurations and changes helps organizations detect potential security breaches and maintain business performance and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. The integrity verification engine issues only actionable alerts so IT personnel are not disrupted by “noise.” It can scan for security breaches up to several times a day — reducing mean time to detection from an industry average of nine months to the same day or less.

To ensure highly secure and high-availability systems, the solution’s security incident and event management services provide event correlation, compliance reporting and recommended remediation steps, and ongoing systems management such as risk analysis and management. Its TotalControl™ system applies controls for managing IT services based on globally recognized best practice processes and methodologies: the IT Infrastructure Library and the VisibleOps Handbook, which IP Services executives authored based on expertise developed through participation in the IT Process Institute, of which IP Services is a founding member.

“IP Services’ AHA Endorsed compliance and security services stand apart because they detect configuration changes that might suggest breaches, but also system vulnerabilities across the entire enterprise — a proactive approach to security,” said Tim Steffl, chief operating & development officer, AHA Solutions. “Additionally, the services demonstrate strong results, both in their dramatic reduction in mean time to detection, and in the fact that IP Services clients remain uncompromised and safe.”

“We are excited to partner with AHA Solutions by delivering our proven and unique IT managed services methodologies, which will mitigate the security risks and vulnerabilities hospitals face relative to HIPAA compliance and their overall security posture,” said Scott Alldridge, CEO of IP Services.

About the AHA
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, who include nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. Visit www.aha.org to learn more.

About AHA Solutions, Inc.
AHA Solutions, Inc. is a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association dedicated to serving member hospitals by helping them identify the optimal solutions to their most pressing market challenges. Through the AHA Endorsement, along with educational programs featuring peers and industry experts, AHA Solutions supports the decision-making process for hospitals looking for partners to help with clinical integration, information technology, talent management, cultural transformation, financial sustainability, the patient flow and other key challenges.

AHA Solutions is proud to reinvest its profits in the AHA Mission: To advance the health of individuals and communities. For more information, contact AHA Solutions at 800.242.4677 or visit www.aha-solutions.org. Also connect with us via Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About IP Services
IP Services proactively manages clients’ critical IT systems and applications in any data center using the VisibleOpsTM methodology and the quality control system we created called TotalControl™. IP Services’ Cybersecurity Visibility Suite uses scientifically proven best practices to secure businesses and the users they serve by monitoring and protecting the systems and applications that are the heart of modern businesses. For more information, visit www.ipservices.com.