DE PERE, WISCONSIN — Dental Tech Designs (DTD), a leading advisor and provider to dental practices in the Upper Midwest is launching a strategic relationship with AuthAir Inc. The company’s AuthAir Dental product delivers the first of its kind security product to help ease HIPAA compliance concerns for Dentists nationwide, specifically addressing the requirement to keep sensitive patient data away from prying eyes as it monitors system access and creates a HIPAA-compliant audit trail.
“HIPAA compliance is a widespread source of frustration for our doctors,” notes Paul Ponkratz, President of Dental Tech Designs. “We’ve been looking for a way to help dental practices proactively address the security-related regulations that doesn’t interfere with their existing processes, and whose cost to deploy isn’t out of reach for most of them. That’s what we finally found in AuthAir, and why we’re so pleased to announce this partnership.”
CEO of AuthAir, Yaron Baitch, explains how his company set out to address that dilemma, “Our team comes from a very strong security heritage, but it was essential we inform our design and implementation with a survey of over 10,000 practices. The survey told us precisely what the Dental Tech Design team reports seeing across their client base: that doctors and staff sincerely want to comply, but are reluctant to rework well-established office routines or slow down their workflow. The pace in most dental offices is such that staffs lament having to take extra time to remove gloves just to repeatedly log on and off, and yet, no one wants to expose their practice to a potential fine for violating either hygiene rules or the requirements to protect patient data. Certainly no one desires to put their collective sensitive patient data at risk of breach.”
AuthAir Dental’s implementation addresses the issue of seamless integration with existing processes by marrying tokens, issued to each staff member to be worn clipped to their belt or kept in a pocket throughout the workday, with workstation software recommended for deployment on every system in the practice. AuthAir Dental works with a practice’s existing hardware and software. Computers are outfitted with encrypted Bluetooth dongles that receive signals from the tokens when authorized personnel are within the customizable pre-set proximity. This allows AuthAir Dental to automatically log staff out when they step away from the operatory, ensuring no patient is left alone with computer access, even for a moment. The same AuthAir Dental automatic signaling process between the token and secured workstation occurs upon re-entry, unlocking the computer when staff return, bringing them right back to where they left off.
“AuthAir Dental also provides an administration console and robust reporting that can be queried at any time,” describes Baitch. “Partners like Dental Tech Designs plan to take that a step further, offering to package monthly reports for their busy doctors as part of their managed service. That’s a real value-add in terms of proactively maintaining compliance, with the side benefit of flagging any suspicious off hour attempts at system access or unusual attempts to access particular machines certain staff aren’t authorized to use, such as perhaps, the system that houses the practice’s billing or finances.”
Ponkratz sees this as a solution whose time has come. “Dental Tech Designs has always sought to help our doctors in their quest to do the best possible by their patients. AuthAir Dental helps us do just that, protecting the practice’s reputation and business in the process. As patients get progressively more aware of the risks of identity theft, they appreciate going to a medical or dental provider who’s taking extra care to protect them. That we can now accomplish this, and get a practice of 10 persons up and running for less than $3,500, and help them maintain compliance at less than $2,000 in years two and beyond, finally pulls HIPAA compliance action within reach for the dental community.”
ABOUT DENTAL TECHNOLOGY DESIGNS, Inc. (DTD)
DTD is a full service IT provider and consulting company dedicated to providing high quality digital solutions for the dental community. DTD is headquartered in Green Bay, WI with satellite offices in Milwaukee and Madison, while serving Northern Illinois and Minnesota. DTD provides individualized consulting, installation and integration of computer networks, dental software systems, digital radiography, intraoral cameras, patient education and office communication systems. They specialize in helping practices select the optimal dental equipment and ensuring that it is installed correctly!
ABOUT AUTHAIR, INC.
AuthAir is a pioneer in the next generation of seamlessly integrated authentication. Its solutions integrate with both simple and complex IT infrastructures, adding additional layers of security, helping dental practices – large and small – meet regulations with compliance, promoting industry best practices – all while minimizing end user behavior modification. The company’s AuthAir Dental product delivers the first of its kind security product to help ease HIPAA compliance concerns for Dentists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.authair.com.