Cloud services promise less hardware to maintain, easier access across locations and faster recovery from local problems. For many long-term care and senior living operators, moving certain systems to the cloud is a sensible step. But the cloud is not magic. It shifts where your data lives and who is responsible for which parts of protecting it, and it places new demands on your network and your planning.
Use this checklist to assess readiness before you commit.
Start with an inventory of servers, applications, file shares and databases. For each, note:
What it does and who uses it
Whether it contains PHI
Its operating system and age
Its dependencies on other systems
Whether the vendor offers a cloud version
Not everything belongs in the cloud. Some specialized equipment and legacy applications are better left in place, at least for now.
Lower-risk, high-value candidates often include email and productivity tools, file storage, backup copies and web-based versions of core applications your vendor already hosts. Systems that depend on tight integration with on-site equipment may need more careful planning.
Cloud services rely on your internet connection. Ask:
Is bandwidth sufficient for all users at once, including backups and video?
Do we have a backup circuit with automatic failover?
What is the latency to the cloud provider, and does it affect your applications?
Can the firewall handle encrypted traffic at the speeds required?
A fast cloud is not helpful if the building's connection is the bottleneck.
Cloud providers secure the underlying infrastructure. You remain responsible for how you configure and use the service, including user accounts, access permissions, data classification and device security. Many cloud incidents result from misconfiguration or stolen credentials, not from flaws in the provider's data centers.
Ask providers to explain, in writing, which security tasks they handle and which are yours.
If a cloud provider will create, receive, maintain or transmit PHI, it is a business associate and a business associate agreement is required. HHS has published guidance on cloud computing and HIPAA, which notes that covered entities may use cloud services for PHI when appropriate safeguards and agreements are in place. Not every product tier of a service is covered by a BAA, so confirm which plans and features are included.
Also update your risk analysis to reflect new systems.
Use unique accounts with multifactor authentication
Consider single sign-on to simplify access
Apply least privilege, so staff only see what they need
Plan offboarding so departing employees lose access immediately
Limit and monitor administrator accounts
Cloud storage is not automatically a backup. Confirm retention settings, versioning and recovery options. Consider independent backups of critical cloud data such as email and file shares. Ask where data is stored geographically and how it is encrypted.
Before signing, ask how you would leave. Can you export data in usable formats? What are the costs and timelines? How is data deleted when the contract ends? Avoid agreements that make it impractical to switch.
Cloud shifts spending from large occasional purchases to recurring monthly fees. Include licensing, storage, bandwidth, backup, security tools, migration costs and ongoing management. Compare against the total cost of owning and replacing on-site hardware, including power, space, support and refresh cycles.
Changes in how people work cause friction. Communicate early, train users, schedule migrations outside busy periods and plan a pilot group. Make sure clinical leaders are involved when anything touches care workflows.
Pick a cutover date with a rollback plan
Test with a small group first
Keep the old system available and read-only for a period
Verify data after migration
Update documentation, network diagrams and policies
A single internet connection with no backup
No one responsible for managing accounts and permissions
No current inventory of systems
Unclear contract terms around data ownership and BAAs
A timeline driven only by a hardware end-of-life date
UnityCare IT helps healthcare operators evaluate which workloads suit the cloud, prepare networks and security, and manage migrations. If you are considering a move, we can help you build a staged plan that keeps care running and protects resident data throughout.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: UnityCare Technologies, 2524 N Broadway Ste 554, PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-4172