The short answer: Most providers charge for IT support for medical practices as a monthly fee per user. With us, Silver starts from €45 and Gold from €70 per user per month, excluding VAT. Microsoft 365 licences, practice software support and hardware sit outside that fee. The key detail to agree is how a provider counts reception, clinical and admin computers.
This guide is for GP, dental and private clinic practices in Meath, Cavan, Westmeath, Louth and Dublin. It explains what the fee covers, what’s billed separately and what to ask before you sign.
What IT support for medical practices covers per user
Your monthly bill mostly depends on how many people you support and which package each person gets. As a result, the cost of IT support for medical practices varies with the size and mix of the team. You can also mix the two packages, with Gold for most staff and Silver for lighter users.
Silver, from €45 per user per month excluding VAT, includes:
- Remote support, monitoring and patching.
- Antivirus and endpoint detection and response (EDR).
- Ransomware protection.
- Microsoft 365 backup of email, OneDrive and SharePoint.
Gold, from €70 per user per month excluding VAT, includes everything in Silver. In addition, it adds email security and phishing awareness training for reception and practice staff. It also brings Microsoft 365 admin and support, leaked-password alerts and a business password manager. Application control and unlimited on-site call-outs as needed complete the package.
Gold also includes 24/7 security monitoring by our security operations centre partner. However, that’s separate from our helpdesk, which runs Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. After-hours emergency support costs extra, so check this if you run evening or weekend clinics.
How providers count reception and consulting-room PCs
Practices use computers differently from most offices. For example, several receptionists may share one front-desk PC during the day. Meanwhile, a GP or dentist may move between consulting rooms. Some providers count named people, while others count devices or mailboxes. So before you compare quotes for IT support for medical practices, agree the counting method in writing.
Points worth settling with any provider include:
- Does each receptionist count as a user, or does the shared reception PC count once?
- How do you count a clinician who logs in at more than one consulting room?
- Can part-time admin staff go on Silver while clinicians and the practice manager go on Gold?
- What happens to the bill when locums or students join and leave?
Whichever method you agree, give each person their own login. The Data Protection Commission’s data security guidance advises against shared credentials. It also suggests computers lock automatically when left unattended, which suits busy reception desks.
Hypothetical example
A dental practice in Navan has three dentists, two hygienists, three receptionists and a practice manager. The receptionists share two front-desk PCs, and locums cover holidays. The practice manager asks each provider of IT support for medical practices to explain how they would count this team. Only after that does a side-by-side price comparison make sense.
What’s billed outside IT support for medical practices
Several costs usually sit outside the monthly fee, so check each one appears as its own line.
Microsoft 365 licences. Microsoft 365 licences are billed separately and aren’t part of Silver or Gold. Gold, however, includes Microsoft 365 admin and support.
Practice-management and clinical systems. Support for the software itself stays with your practice software vendor, unless you agree otherwise. We look after the PCs, server, network and accounts it runs on. We also work with the vendor when something needs their input.
Server and device backup. Our Microsoft 365 backup doesn’t cover practice software data held on a local server or PC. Instead, we scope device and server backup in your proposal. Your software vendor can confirm how to back up their data, and we test restores every two weeks.
Hardware and projects. We quote new PCs, printers and network equipment separately. Likewise, any setup work for IT support for medical practices appears upfront in a written proposal.
Questions to ask before choosing IT support for medical practices
Health data is special category data under GDPR, so stricter rules apply. Therefore, put the same questions to every provider of IT support for medical practices:
- Who counts as a user, and how do you treat shared reception PCs?
- Which parts of our practice software do you support, and which stay with the vendor?
- Does backup cover our practice software data, or only Microsoft 365?
- What does after-hours help cost if a PC fails during an evening clinic?
- How quickly can you remove access when a locum or staff member leaves?
- Do licences, hardware and project work appear as separate lines?
Finally, ask how the provider helps staff spot fake supplier invoices. The NCSC’s business email compromise guidance recommends a strict call-back check for any change of bank details. Your professional advisers can confirm any legal or regulatory points.
How Sweeney Computer Services can help
Oliver Sweeney founded the company in 1985, and we still work from Hurdlestown, Kells, Co. Meath. Today we support more than 50 businesses and more than 10 schools. Our IT support for medical practices covers reception and consulting-room PCs, staff and locum accounts, and backup.
See our IT support for medical and dental practices and our managed IT support. You can also read about cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 and backup and recovery. For the waiting room, our guide to setting up clinic guest Wi-Fi covers keeping patient systems separate.
A quick sense-check
Not sure how to count your practice team?
Book a short call with Michael Sweeney about your reception, consulting rooms and staff setup.
