This checklist helps practice leaders review the technology controls around a medical clinic. Appointments, clinical records, prescribing, billing, pathology, imaging, secure messaging, phones and internet access form one connected operating environment that must remain both available and appropriately protected.
Make responsibility visible
Maintain an inventory of systems, vendors, integrations and support contacts. Document who owns updates, backups, user access, incident response and after-hours decisions. Unassigned responsibilities become gaps.
Protect identity and access
Use named user accounts, strong MFA where supported, least privilege and prompt offboarding. Avoid sharing administrator or clinical-system credentials. Review remote access and supplier access regularly.
Build a resilient clinic network
Separate guest access from business systems and isolate devices where appropriate. Maintain supported firewalls, secure Wi-Fi, monitored endpoints and reliable internet. Consider a tested backup connection when loss of connectivity would stop consultations.
Back up and practise downtime
Confirm what each clinical vendor requires, monitor backups and test restoration. Create a practical downtime procedure for appointments, urgent patient information, prescribing, billing and communication. Review it with staff rather than leaving it in a folder.
- Clinical and practice-management data
- Scanned documents and shared files
- Microsoft 365 and cloud data
- Network and firewall configurations
- Recovery contacts and access details
Prepare for a data breach
The OAIC recommends a four-step health-sector response: contain, evaluate, notify and review. Clinics should have a response plan and understand the separate notification requirements that may apply to My Health Record incidents. Obtain legal or privacy advice for your circumstances.
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General information only. It is not legal, privacy or compliance advice; requirements should be assessed for your organisation.