IT Indiana Interview

Critchlow: No Infections at St. Joe

SJRMC's Jeff Critchlow guards against viruses, keeps hospital data moving 24/7

South Bend. Every hospital must guard against spreading infections, so it is no surprise that the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center carries this philosophy to its data operations as well. Jeff Critchlow, Director of Information Technology Services at SJRMC, says hospitals face unique issues in dealing with security issues like viruses and hackers. "To begin with," says Critchlow, "we are dealing with very confidential data. A virus like SIRCAM that gathers and distributes information from the user's hard drive is more than an inconvenience - it could be sending out patient data or other sensitive material."

To keep viruses out of hospital systems, Critchlow has established a multi-layered defense. Each individual workstation runs McAfee virus software, and is configured so that users can't disable it. Using McAfee ASAP (formerly MyCIO), virus signatures are updated automatically. Servers are also protected, and each e-mail is scanned by the server before being forwarded to its destination. This double layer of protection - at both the server and client levels - helps insure that even if one client is compromised by a virus, the infection will have virtually no chance to spread through the network or even slow down network traffic.

Because of the diversity of users in the hospital environment - doctors, administrators, and other staff - and their many contacts outside the local network, SJRMC can expect to be an early recipient of new viruses. In fact, during the weekend before most Michiana businesses had received their first SIRCAM-bearing e-mail, SJRMC's mail servers had already stopped more than a dozen copies of the virus.

A hospital environment presents other unique challenges, according to Critchlow. Today's SJRMC consists of three major hospital facilities - South Bend, Mishawaka, and Plymouth, plus clinics, medical offices, and other remote facilities. All of these locations must be able to share data to support operations. The hospitals themselves are interesting environments. Typically, hospitals grow in a somewhat organic manner, sprouting new appendages and being remodeled as patient needs and medical technology change. This can create issues for a variety of technologies. Running cable through the older structures can be time-consuming and require penetration of heavy walls. Wireless technologies, on the other hand, sometimes have difficulty penetrating the various layers of structure.

Despite the challenges in keeping all of SJRMC's far-flung facilities connected, Critchlow points out that in today's environment it is a business necessity. If one wants patients to avoid having to complete redundant forms, for example, the various locations must be able to share this data seamlessly. Competing with the need for ever more data sharing is the need for strict security and patient confidentiality. On one hand, shifting from antiquated paper and film-based patient records to digitized data accessible from any hospital facility promises to make patient care faster and more effective. On the other hand, this change also creates new ways for patient confidentiality to be breached. In an environment where insurance companies and other entities have an incentive to avoid offering coverage to higher-risk individuals, keeping patient data away from prying eyes is of utmost importance.

Overlaying the privacy issue are the requirements of the federal HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) law. Every U.S. hospital is revamping their software and systems to insure compliance with the act, which mandates levels of privacy as well as the ability to share standardized information.

Despite the unique requirements of operating in the health-care environment, Critchlow seems energized rather than frustrated by the challenges. "We want to be proactive, not reactive," says Critchlow - a good way to operate for an IT Director in any industry.

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CompStar Technologies is a leading Indiana-based provider of networking, technology, and communications services. With offices in Mishawaka (serving South Bend, Elkhart, Warsaw, Michigan City, Fort Wayne, Niles, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor, Michigan) and Indianapolis, CompStar provides network design / support, network security, wireless networking, business telephone systems, VoIP (voice over IP), and cctv / video surveillance systems. CompStar is the Technology Division of Direct Line Communications, headquartered in Mishawaka, Indiana.