Practice Shield - HIPAA IT for Dental and Medical Practices
Practice Shield is JPert’s managed IT and security plan for dental offices, medical practices, behavioral health providers and specialty clinics in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. We sign a Business Associate Agreement, run your IT day to day and keep the HIPAA documentation that shows your safeguards are in place.
HIPAA asks for proof, not just good intentions.
A small practice holds sensitive patient records, often without anyone on staff whose job is IT. The HIPAA Security Rule expects every practice to assess its risks, protect electronic patient information, train its staff and be able to show that it did. When an IT company handles that information for you, HIPAA requires a written Business Associate Agreement.
Practice Shield puts that work on one team. We keep your computers, network and practice software running, keep patient data protected and backed up, and keep the records you would need for an insurer, an auditor or the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
- One accountable team — IT support, security and HIPAA documentation from the same people.
- BAA from day one — signed before we touch systems that hold patient information.
- Plain-English reporting — what is protected, what still needs work and why.
- Local help — a Vienna office near Tysons, with on-site visits scheduled when the work needs hands-on help.
What Practice Shield covers.
Everything in our small-office managed IT plan, plus the HIPAA work a practice needs.
Business Associate Agreement
We sign a BAA with your practice, so the contract HIPAA requires is in place before we work with patient data.
Security risk assessment
A HIPAA Security Risk Assessment following HHS methodology, with a written plan to fix what it finds.
24/7 security monitoring
Round-the-clock monitoring and antivirus on every computer, with patching to close known holes.
Encryption & backups
Patient data encrypted at rest and in transit, plus email and file backups you can restore from.
Staff security training
Security awareness training for front desk and clinical staff, so phishing emails get reported instead of clicked.
Practice software support
Help with your EHR, practice management and imaging software, and with the vendors who support them.
Incident response plan
A written plan for a breach or ransomware attack, including who to call and how breach notification works.
Audit-ready documentation
Policies, risk assessments and training records kept organized, so you can answer an auditor or insurer quickly.
Local help desk
Real people who know your practice. Urgent issues get a response within 4 business hours.
Practice Shield builds on our managed IT, cybersecurity, backup and disaster recovery and security awareness training services. Read more about how we work with healthcare practices.
What the HIPAA Security Rule asks of a practice.
Each item links to the official source. We label what is required now and what is only proposed.
- Required: a risk analysis. An accurate and thorough assessment of the risks to electronic patient information, and security measures that reduce them (HHS Security Rule summary).
- Required: staff training. A security awareness and training program for all members of the workforce (45 CFR 164.308).
- Required: a data backup plan. Procedures to create and keep retrievable exact copies of electronic patient information (45 CFR 164.308).
- Required: a Business Associate Agreement. A practice must have a written contract with any business associate that handles its patient information, such as an IT provider (HHS FAQ).
- Addressable, not optional: encryption. Encryption is an “addressable” safeguard, which means a practice must use it or document why an equivalent measure is reasonable instead (45 CFR 164.312).
- Proposed, not final: the Security Rule update. HHS proposed a major update in January 2025. It is still a proposal, so its new requirements are not deadlines yet. We help practices meet today’s rule and get ready for the update (Federal Register).
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read our free HIPAA IT Setup Guide for Medical and Dental Practices.
How we get your practice covered
- 1. Discover — Free and with no obligation. We learn how your practice works, review your systems and risks, and give you a roadmap with clear costs.
- 2. Stabilize — We sign the BAA, fix what is fragile, put the security protections in place and document them.
- 3. Manage — Ongoing support, monitoring, patching and training, with regular reviews of your risks and records.
Priced per provider, quoted up front.
Practice Shield is priced per provider, and you get an exact quote after a free assessment. Onboarding is free. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace licenses, hardware and on-site visits are billed separately, and projects are quoted up front.
Not a healthcare practice? Our small-office plans and pricing start at $50 per user per month.
Questions practices ask us.
Dental offices, medical practices, behavioral health providers and specialty clinics in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia that want their IT, security and HIPAA documentation handled by one team.
Yes. We sign a BAA with every healthcare client before we work with systems that hold patient information. HIPAA requires a practice to have a written contract with any business associate that handles that information.
No IT provider can make a practice compliant on its own, because HIPAA also covers your policies, your staff and how patient information is used. We put the technical safeguards in place for the systems we manage, run the risk assessment and keep the records, and we help you with the rest.
No. HHS proposed an update to the Security Rule in January 2025, and it has not been finalized. The current Security Rule still applies today, and we help practices meet it while getting ready for the update.
Practice Shield is priced per provider. After a free assessment you get an exact quote. Onboarding is free, and licenses, hardware and on-site visits are billed separately.
Urgent issues get a response within 4 business hours, and normal requests by the next business day.
Yes. Our free 5-minute HIPAA self-assessment gives you an instant risk report with no sign-up. Take the HIPAA self-assessment.
Related guides from JPert Chronicles.
See where your practice stands.
Book a free assessment. We’ll review your systems, your HIPAA documentation and your biggest risks with you.