The healthcare environment is changing, and this evolution is impacting healthcare providers, physicians, and the technology that must support them. Doctors are more mobile than ever, frequently working from multiple locations, such as hospitals, private clinics, and universities. There is a dearth of some specialists, such as radiologists, who must provide their expertise and counsel from geographically remote locations. At the same time, healthcare providers must meet strict privacy and security regulations, complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other government and industry policies. Even with U.S. government powers touting “a new age of healthcare IT” with the National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) initiative, the reality is that healthcare IT faces many challenges in handling existing mobility and security issues. All of this with strapped IT budgets and manpower and increasingly complex computer networks.

While no single solution can handle all of these issues, many healthcare providers are turning to SSL VPNs (secure sockets layer virtual private networks), which offer clientless secure remote access of vital information and healthcare applications from virtually anywhere on any device. SSL VPN remote access solutions from companies like Aventail have some obvious benefits in providing cost-effective, secure remote access that is easy for the end user and for the network administrator.

Reprinted with Permission from www.aventail.com