Advancements is telehealth technology arrived exactly when most needed, and that’s so true here in North America. Traditional healthcare has struggled to keep up with explosive population growth and the largest number of senior citizens ever seen. For a lot of people it’s good that they can have a virtual doctor appointment online. But being able to access the services of other medical or healthcare professionals online is also hugely beneficial, and maybe even more so in Vancouver where waits for in-clinic consultations can be shockingly long. All these healthcare portals will need hosting services in Vancouver.
People who are new to accessing healthcare this way will be part of a very positive trend if they continue to try to get medical help online rather than thinking they need to see a doctor or health professional in person. But they will need to have a good experience with the portal and for people who are older they may have very little tolerance for a website that suddenly becomes unavailable or they’re not able to submit documentation properly. The bigger problem is if data is not secured against any breach of the website, and if people are paying for services that is a possibility if you don’t have secure web hosting for healthcare.
It's for this reason that most private healthcare provider websites will be using VPS hosting for business in Canada. Shared web hosting is fine for a personal interest website or a blog, although there are WordPress business websites for some small businesses. It’s going to be different if you’re talking a healthcare service online and the website is going to be the portal for consultations with patients and for payment for services provided. You need to have more in the way of the assurances of security, and also knowing that the web hosting is rock-solid reliable.
It is here at 4GoodHosting, and we have a number of plan members who are just this type of medical service provider and benefitting from our hosting services in Vancouver. We have data centers in both Vancouver and Toronto, and so service providers here in the Lower Mainland of BC will be especially well set up with our VPS web hosting Canada. But the focus with today’s entry is going to specifically focus on web hosting for healthcare providers plus a little bit about what are the general best choices for e-commerce compliant web hosting. Something which many of these providers will need to have as part of their site. So let’s get right to it, and explain how you can secure your healthcare website today: explore our hosting plans!
Security is Key
It almost goes without saying that any health system websites need reliable hosting solutions if it is to be a legitimate option for people who need healthcare. Hosting services in Vancouver are the same for any city when hosting websites for these providers. Everything needs to be secure, fast, and running smoothly. What providers will quickly come to see as full needs are the website security we talked about earlier, and ten also fast website page load speeds.
Or at least reasonably speedy, as many new users will be turned off from using the online healthcare service if they believe the website isn’t operating properly. Slow page load speeds aren’t an indication it isn’t, but a lot of people using virtual healthcare for the first time are going to be older. It’s understandable they might have those apprehensions. If you’ve on VPS hosting with us there is next to no chance of that happening because as we said one of our 2 big data centers is right here in Vancouver.
Continuing with secure web hosting for healthcare, the other expectations that these types of plan holders are going to have are access to a CDN (content distribution network) to also speed up website performance and improve SEO. It will also be preferable if there can be support from a team of representatives who are always available to answer your questions and provide assistance when needed. With most VPS hosting packages in Canada you will also have the ability to backup you website on your own at anytime with 1-click convenience.
Website security will always be the number one consideration though, and that’s why people with a healthcare service business online in Vancouver will also need to have their web host providing powerful firewalls to keep their information safe from outside threats
Must Haves
For our next door neighbors in the USA it is the US Government’s HIPAA (health information privacy and accessibility act) that sets the guidelines that healthcare provision websites need to adhere to in order to be allowed to operate in the telehealth space. We have the same type of laws in our version of it – called PIPEDA . There are differences between the two but most of what you’d need to know if you were in the States will apply if you are online healthcare provider in Canada and weighing hosting services Vancouver .
Deciding which PIPEDA-compliant services you need for a standard eCommerce site may not be so easy, where the most important data to protect includes names, addresses, and PCI DSS-covered information (i.e., credit card numbers). But when it comes to protecting data as per PIPEDA, the necessary security and features become even more important.
You will also likely need SSL certificates if there are going to be transactions made through the site, and just like it is for any site it is so important that customers’ financial information is kept secure. Regular and automated backups are also going to be what you want to see provided, and they contribute to better website security too. They ensure their customers’ data is secure and intact in case of any unexpected event, such as a cyber-attack or hardware failure.
Automated backups also help reduce the time and effort required to manually back up data, making it easier and faster to restore everything in the case of an emergency. Also, automated backups can save costs associated with manual backup processes.
Staging Environment
This stage is the replica of an eCommerce site used to test and make changes before you start releasing live to customers. With a staging environment you are able to make test changes without fear of altering the way your website will currently appear live. Whether you're making small or large changes to your site, it's smart to go with a staging environment if you can to any avoid cascading unintended changes. Especially considering there’s definitely a learning curve to running a website.
SSL Certificate
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates are important for any eCommerce website hosting with the way they provide an encrypted link between a web server and browser, allowing sensitive data to be securely transmitted. SSL certificates help to protect transactional information such as credit card details, personal information, and passwords from malicious third parties.
SSL certs can be obtained from most Canada web providers and then the provider installs them on the server. To ensure maximum security for customers, it is important for businesses to use the latest version of an SSL certificate and keep their software updated regularly. Secure shell access should also be evaluated as an additional security measure and very much in line with secure web hosting for healthcare .
Uptime Guarantee
Here at 4GoodHosting we are a web hosting provider with a 99% uptime guarantee, meaning there’s only ever a 1% chance your website won’t be up and available on the web. Uptime is essential for eCommerce hosting, as any downtime can severely impact a business’s bottom line. A prolonged period of downtime can result in lost revenue and customers, and most will start to distrust a businesses that cannot provide reliable service.
The 99% uptime guarantee is now pretty much the standard in web hosting, so you should expect if yourself if you’re bringing a healthcare portal website online in Vancouver sometime in the near future.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
We will explain more about the value Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) here. They are networks of servers located around the world that deliver content like images, videos, and webpages to visitors based on their geographic location. This helps to reduce latency and improve eCommerce website performance for global visitors. CDNs provide this service by caching copies of static assets, such as images, on edge servers that are stored closer to end users. As mentioned, one of our 2 big ones is here in Vancouver and so it is ideal for any business to be using a CDN when having us provide their web hosting.
These same guidelines that apply to finding the right web hosting for eCommerce will apply here too, it’s important to consider features such as server performance, scalability options, and customer support. Many hosting companies offer various server configurations to meet different performance needs, so it’s a good idea to determine what type of hardware is available and how it will affect page load times. You should also make sure that the eCommerce hosting package has scalability of the site included with it.
The only exception to that would be if you choose to go with managed web hosting for you Vancouver healthcare business. Secure your healthcare website today: explore our hosting plans!
