When you hire an IT provider or renew a support contract, the sales conversation tends to focus on price and promises. The document that determines what you actually receive at 2 a.m. on a Sunday is the service level agreement, or SLA. For a facility that never closes, the details deserve careful reading.
This guide walks through what to look for and what questions to ask.
These two terms are often blurred.
Response time: how quickly someone acknowledges and starts working on your ticket
Resolution time: how long until the problem is fixed
Many SLAs promise a response time but make no commitment on resolution. That is common, since problems vary in complexity, but you should ask how the provider handles tickets that run long and whether there are escalation triggers.
A good SLA defines priority by impact, not by who shouts loudest. For example:
Critical: an outage affecting resident care or an entire facility, such as a down EHR, network or suspected security incident
High: a significant problem affecting a department or a key function
Normal: a single user affected with a workaround available
Low: routine requests, questions and planned projects
Each level should have its own response target and a clear way to request escalation. Make sure the provider's definition of critical matches your definition.
Ask specifically:
What hours are included in the standard support window?
Is after-hours, weekend and holiday support included, and at what cost?
Is after-hours support a live person or a voicemail?
How do you reach someone during a true emergency?
Are on-site visits available, and with what lead time?
For 24-hour care facilities, a support model that only covers business hours leaves a gap on nights and weekends when many problems actually occur.
Clarify exactly what the agreement covers:
Which devices and users are included
Which applications are supported, including third-party systems such as the EHR, phone system and medical devices
Whether the provider will coordinate with your other vendors when a problem crosses boundaries
Whether security monitoring, patching and backups are included or extra
How projects and new installations are billed
The phrase "out of scope" has caused many frustrated phone calls. Get examples in writing.
Ask what reports you will receive:
Ticket volumes and types
Response and resolution times against the SLA
Recurring problems and root-cause summaries
Patch and backup status
Security events
Schedule regular business reviews, at least quarterly. Reports that are never discussed are not useful.
What happens if the provider misses its targets? Some agreements offer service credits, others offer only the right to terminate. Look for realistic remedies and a clear process for raising concerns.
For a healthcare organization, make sure the contract includes:
A business associate agreement if the provider can access PHI
Breach and incident notification timelines
Security practices for provider staff, such as background checks and multi-factor authentication
Data handling and return at contract end
Insurance coverage the provider carries
Check the term length, renewal and cancellation conditions, price increases and what happens to your documentation and passwords at the end. You should own your credentials, network diagrams and configurations, not the provider.
How quickly do they answer the phone?
How do they handle emergencies?
Do they explain problems in plain language?
Do they follow through on recommendations?
Have you had a security incident, and how did they respond?
Compare proposals on total cost, not just the monthly price. Ask whether after-hours calls, onsite visits, project work, security tools and onboarding are billed separately. Request a sample invoice from a similar client. Surprises in billing are among the most common reasons organizations feel unhappy with an IT provider, and a few direct questions up front can prevent them.
If you already have an agreement, reread it with these points in mind and note anything vague. UnityCare IT offers clear support terms for healthcare operators and can review an existing SLA with you, whether or not you are considering a change.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: 2524 N Broadway Ste 554 PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034