The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act offers a framwork for protection of patient information. Though most hospital and doctor's office administrators are familiar with the administrative and non-disclosure aspects of the act, many overlook the technological side. HIPAA requires that patient information is not only protected form misuse, but also protected from loss.

A standard backup is not enough to ensure compliance. Offsite backup is required. In the past this required a tape backup drive and a procedure to store tapes offsite in case of disaster. Online backup eliminates a step. Data is seamlessly (and compliantly) backed up online to a remote datacenter in the next town, or even in the next country.

 By switching to online backup solutions, even small and single-provider medical offices can leverage cloud-based technologies. The cost savings comes from the elimination of almost all labor required and the fact that there is no additional hardware to purchase or maintain.

Backup To The Web : A full service online backup provider. Offers various sizes and packages, including tricky database and mail backups your practice might require. Free Trials are available.

iBackup : An online backup service. Offers a standard and "professional" service.