IT services in Old Bridge, NJ

Old Bridge is a large township — about forty square miles, running from the Route 9 and Route 18 corridors out to Laurence Harbor on Raritan Bay, with Madison Park, Browntown, Cheesequake and South Old Bridge in between. It was called Madison Township until 1975, which is still why some older records and maps are confusing.

The township has its own hospital, Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center, and it reaches all the way to Raritan Bay. Between them, those account for the two things we'd most want an Old Bridge practice or household to think about.

Small practices and the HIPAA risk assessment

Every practice that handles patient information is required under HIPAA to carry out a security risk analysis — a written assessment of where patient data lives, who can reach it and what could go wrong — and to revisit it as things change. In large health systems there's a team for that. In a three-doctor office or a dental practice off Route 9, it tends to be nobody's job, and the first time anyone asks for it is during an audit, a breach, or an insurer's renewal questionnaire.

The assessment itself is the useful part, not just the paperwork. It's the exercise that finds the front-desk computer everyone shares a login on, the former staff member whose account still works, the backup nobody has restored from, and the X-ray or imaging PC running an old operating system because the vendor's software requires it.

We carry out HIPAA risk assessments for small practices, fix what they find, and train staff on the parts that are people rather than technology — recognizing phishing emails and handling patient information properly. We're an IT provider, not a law firm, so questions about legal obligations still go to the appropriate advisor, but the technical work and the documentation are what we do.

Keeping the internet up when the power isn't

Laurence Harbor and the bayfront took real damage in Hurricane Sandy — Middlesex County received federal funding afterwards to repair the beach, dunes and groins at Old Bridge Waterfront Park — and storms that knock out power for hours or days are part of living near the water. For households and home offices, the technology question is a simple one: when the power goes, everything goes, including the internet.

Most people don't realize that the internet provider's equipment often keeps working through a local outage as long as the modem and router at your end have power. A small battery backup under the desk can keep the modem, router and a laptop running for hours — long enough to finish a day's work or stay in touch during a storm. It's an inexpensive fix and it's frequently the difference between a working day and a lost one.

For a business or home office where being offline isn't an option, the next step is a cellular backup connection that the router switches to automatically when the main line fails. It won't be as fast, but it keeps email, phones and card payments working.

What we most often help with in Old Bridge

• HIPAA security risk assessments and remediation for small practices
• HIPAA and phishing awareness training for practice staff
• Access reviews and removing former-staff accounts
• Battery backup for modems, routers, and home-office equipment
• Cellular failover connections for businesses and home offices
• Home and business computer repair, Wi-Fi, and new-device setup

Areas we cover

We work throughout Old Bridge, including Laurence Harbor, Madison Park, Browntown, Cheesequake, South Old Bridge, and Route 9 corridor.

Getting to you in Old Bridge

Old Bridge is around twenty to twenty-five minutes from us for the Route 9 and Route 18 side of the township, and more for Laurence Harbor and the bayfront. Visits are scheduled rather than same-day, and we try to group them so we can do more in one trip. For practices, we'll work around your patient schedule — assessments can be done before opening, after close, or partly remotely.

Common questions from Old Bridge

• Is a HIPAA risk assessment actually required for a small practice?

  Yes. The HIPAA Security Rule requires any practice that handles electronic patient information to carry out a risk analysis and keep it current, regardless of size. HHS has penalized small providers that never did one. We can carry it out, fix what it finds and give you the documentation — legal interpretation is still a matter for your attorney or compliance advisor.

• Our imaging PC runs old Windows because of the vendor's software. Is that a HIPAA problem?

  It's a risk that needs to be documented and managed, not necessarily replaced. If the vendor's software won't run on anything newer, the usual answer is to isolate that computer from the rest of the network, restrict what it can reach, and record that decision in your risk assessment. Leaving it unmentioned and on the same network as everything else is the part that causes trouble.

• We lose power in storms. How do we keep the internet working?

  Put a battery backup on the modem and router. Your provider's network often stays up through a local power cut, and a small battery can keep your equipment running for hours. If the provider's own service goes down too, a cellular backup connection that the router switches to automatically is the next step, and it's worth it for anyone working from home or running a business.

• Do you cover Laurence Harbor and the other sections of Old Bridge?

  Yes — Laurence Harbor, Madison Park, Browntown, Cheesequake, South Old Bridge and the rest of the township. It's a big township, so tell us which part you're in when you call and we'll give you a realistic time rather than one number for everywhere.