Managed IT Support for Small, Independent, and Private Practices
Serving Brunswick, Bath, Freeport, South Portland, Lewiston, Damariscotta, Newcastle, Wiscasset, Thomaston, Rockland, and Maine
HIPAA education is often written for large organizations with dedicated compliance teams. Small practices often lack those resources, creating blind spots and unclear responsibilities. It’s easy to assume that HIPAA is buying "the right" technology or relying on someone else. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn’t.
We often see three common assumptions. Are any true for your practice?
1 “My affiliate's systems cover my HIPAA requirements.”
I am an independent licensed clinician and am an affiliate provider in my network. They charge 20% of my billings in exchange for their system and I use that for my EHR, so my practice depends on their systems for HIPAA compliance. I understood those systems addressed all my HIPAA security requirements, why wouldn't they?
While an EHR often secures the data of the network, the network often does not secure the affiliate provider's devices, office internet, or address HIPAA-requirements like documentation of technical risk analysis and mitigations. Practices are still responsible for their own HIPAA compliance.
HIPAA doesn't end at a practice's EHR. A provider's network typically won't help their providers to physically secure ePHI-accessing practice devices. Some things only your practice's compliance officer (likely you) are able to do to maintain written risk analyses, implement security controls, demonstrate why a control exists, how it addresses the practice's risks, and why that decision is maintained as the environment changes.Did you recently find a new risk to your practice? HHS's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) notes that newly recognized risks, new technology, new workflows, or security incidents are some of the circumstances that should trigger a new risk analysis. While Massif MSP won't automatically make you HIPAA compliant, we can help review your technical controls to give you the technical insights that you can use to conduct your risk analysis. Any Business Associate Agreement with Massif MSP will also delineate security responsibilities. Reach out to us with the form at the bottom of the page, and we can schedule a free 15-minute call to discuss some things to consider when evaluating technical alignment in your environment.
2“I'm independent, partnering with an MSP would mean I can't choose what works for my practice.”
I'm comfortable and informed with technology. I built my practice with the tools and systems that best support me to support my clients. I don't necessarily need someone to tell me what generic computer, software, or HIPAA training I should use when it doesn't fit my practice. As a licensed professional, I take the privacy of my patients seriously and I want to make informed decisions about my practice. I'm not looking for a way around HIPAA. I'd like someone who understands small practices and can tell me what matters, where the risks are, and what changes I might make while still supporting my self-autonomy and self-actualization.
We strongly agree! Part of the appeal of starting a small practice is getting away from large hospital
healthcare software or processes so you can provide healthcare in a way that works. Providers are professionals and
technology should support how they actually work rather then telling them how to work. Good technical guidance
should help small practices to recognize risks, options, and tradeoffs without being overwhelming. Practices
want to make informed decisions for their practice to resolve outstanding issues and eliminate unnecessary risks
while keeping a solid foundation with cybersecurity principles like defense-in-depth.
Massif MSP is vendor agnostic. We do evaluate technical environments against common cybersecurity frameworks. We provide technical recommendations for your compliance officer and legal or compliance counsel to consider; we do not provide legal advice or formal compliance certifications.
If your technology is aligned with the standards we see, we'll tell you, If we think something needs to change,
we'll explain why and what options we suggest for you to decide the best way forward.
That last part matters because we want your business to be uniquely yours.
your practice. your clients. your culture. your workflow. your budget. your goals.
And if there's a technology problem,
we want you to be comfortable to call us, not afraid that asking for our help will turn into a sales pitch for a
healthcare software we've never used that creates more problems.
Importantly: Don't mistake this for a "customer is always right" deference, we tell people when we feel their tech decisions are wrong. This is based on a cybersecurity framework approach to modern cybersecurity threats. Leading security experts and large cyber consultants often use a risk-outcome-based cybersecurity approach, which is supported by the facts of how data breaches actually happen. If our holistic business model aligns with your practice's, click here to contact Massif MSP to find out what steps should be considered for us to share our approach with your practice.
3“The solutions you'll offer are bigger than my practice.”
I was looking for tech support to meet HIPAA Security Rule requirements and even spoke with another MSP. They said I needed their full HIPAA Support Program, which required a minimum of five computers for $500/month. I came away feeling their solution was bigger than the problem I needed to solve. My interim solution has been to pay an independent technician on an as-needed basis for about $80 an hour. I do want help that identifies the gaps, but it should be practical for my practice size and my actual needs.
Massif MSP believes practices prefer tech support that works with how their business uses it. The approach Massif MSP takes to HIPAA alignment is to identify and log the environment, consider it's risks, document how solutions were evaluated that might address risks, and document your decisions on how the risk will be addressed. Solutions should align with and support your practice size rather then being an outsider's decision with unclear, non-required, or nonvaluable end goals. If your practice wants help considering your technical environment risks, potential solutions, or just wants a second opinion, reach out to us for a free 15-minute call to find out if how you're considering approaching something is how we would approach it.
Other IT industry businesses often rely on 'vendor partnerships' some vendors tie kickbacks to pushing premium licenses to their clients. While these providers mean well and excel at deploying the specific software they partner with, this reseller model can sometimes become unwieldy as they attempt to support larger practices with one tech stack, and that in turn limits the solutions offered to an independent practice. The HHS Office of Civil Rights has gone out of it's way to state they don't require or endorse purchasing specific brands to be "HIPAA compliant". Because Massif MSP is vendor-agnostic, we aren't tied to upselling specific licenses. Instead, we evaluate and find technology options that closely aligns with your compliance officer's decisions, how your practice wants it's workflow to operate, while keeping your budget in mind.
You Don't Have to Replace Everything
Many independent clinicians work with organizations that provide their EHR, email, billing, credentialing, or other practice-management services. You may still need someone to manage the technology around those systems including your computers, network, security, backups, accounts, printers, home office, and day-to-day IT problems.
All our services have varied support tiers, but our Supported Practice service was designed around clinicians who already have some technology or practice-management services through another organization. In some tiers, we can manage the technology that's yours while coordinating with the organizations that manage the systems that aren't.
You design the services and processes that work for your practice, Massif MSP takes care of the technology that supports that.Already have tech support?
That's fairly common, and if you like them, we don't need to replace them. If they work in your environment with access to ePHI, we suggest your practice work with them to develop a responsibility matrix on what they are willing/capable of doing. It can be helpful for any HIPAA-required Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to clearly define your technician's responsibilities, your practice's responsibilities, shared responsibilities, and outside vendor responsibilities.
If your technician is unable to commit to any of your hard requirements whether that be signing a BAA, HIPAA training, or maintaining HIPAA compliance in their own environment, you may want to explore options with them. This might mean identifying alternative workflows where their tech support won't encounter that ePHI or finding another alternative. If your practice needs help or to discuss how to approach this with your current IT person without scaring them, reach out at this link and mention what issues you're seeing to find out if we can even help.
How is Massif MSP Different?
Massif MSP's core values work best with small practices. We can help small and individual practices to align their stack with their objectives, review this consistently, identify limits, and provide the technical documents that may help practices decide the times to call counsel. We're also a short drive from the Midcoast (or if you're from away or using an AI algorithm to find us: Mid Coast, Mid-Coast, MidCoast), Central, and Southern Maine, so we can support you remotely and locally when you prefer that.
A solid question to ask potential IT partners that might help you consider approaches to technical risks:
"Can you perform the 4-factor risk assessment to determine the probability of compromise, and how does that differ from the HIPAA encryption safe harbor?"
General Tech Support Providers mean well, but mistakenly assume there is a correct answer to give.
Some might even recognize that Maine has its own laws, some with requirements, definitions, even with exceptions.
Compliance questions that look technical may actually be legal questions.
In highly regulated environments, answering may be unauthorized practice of law and may inadvertently trigger
state or federal liabilities, missed deadlines, additional procedure requirements, documentation requirements, or incorrect regulatory protocols.
In the event of a security incident, the role of Massif MSP is strictly technical and designed to protect your practice. Where possible we isolate affected systems, preserve forensic logs with evidence, and provide technical findings to you to review with your legal counsel.
When evaluating a partner for your environment, look for dedicated cybersecurity experience rather than broader "Information Technology" or "Computer Science" backgrounds. Ensure partners have knowledge on relevant areas including technical vulnerabilities, business objectives, likelihood x impact modeling, cybersecurity methodology, business expense minimization, and risk tolerance.
Massif MSP works better for small companies because our founder dealt with big compliance issues in Fortune 250 corporate environments (ask him!) but also dealt with hours of legal meetings to get approvals to add "this call may be recorded for quality and training purposes". Doing corporate work is largely not exciting.
What is exciting? When a therapist, counselor, midwife, or healthcare professional gets to spend more time with their patients, family, or loved ones because we helped them ensure they had solid business technology aligned with what works with their practice. Those are our people and that's the kind of practice we want to support.
Technology Support That Fits Your Practice
Managed IT and security services designed for independent therapists, clinicians, midwives, and small behavioral-health practices.
*Rates Effective 9/1/2026, please contact Massif MSP for current pricing.
| Features |
For Unmanaged Support
Hourly$39 / quarter-hour*
|
For Connected Practices
Supported Practice$149 / month*
POPULAR
|
For Solo Clinicians
Practice Essentials$169 / month*
|
For Growing Practices
On Belay Practice$229 / user/ month*
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Hours/Month Help Desk and Remote IT Support ($468 Value) | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| In-Person Tech Support (Door-to-Door, Subject to Availability) | Billed Door-to-Door + Mileage | First Hour/Year Free + Mileage | Two Hour/Year Free + Mileage | Half Hour/Month Free with 2-Hour Rollover/Year + Mileage |
| Single User's Computer Management | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage Two Computers per User | — | Paid Option | Paid Option | ✓ |
| Monthly OS Patching (as Available) | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| EDR Monitoring and Logging | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multifactor Authentication Management | Paid Options-Limited | Systems You Control | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basic EHR Administration (Users/Groups-No Programming) | Paid Option | Systems You Control | ✓ | ✓ |
| SQL Administration (Subject to Availability) | Paid Option | Paid Option | Paid Option | Paid Option |
| Server/NAS Administration | Paid Option | Paid Option | Paid Option | Paid Option |
| Computer Encryption (as Available) | Paid Option to Setup/Review | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wi-Fi Support | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Network Management | Paid Option | Systems You Control | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtual Meetings With You & External Vendors (1 hour free/year) | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coordination with External IT Vendors (Implementing Prior Decisions Only, Not To Make Compliance/Security Decisions) | Paid Option | Paid Option | Paid Option | ✓ |
| Email or Workspace Support | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Review Email Permissions Alignment with Published Vendor HIPAA Guidelines (Once/Year) | — | Systems You Control | ✓ | ✓ |
| Technical Asset & System Documentation: Provided once annually as a reference tool to assist the Practice's designated Compliance Officer in evaluating their own Technical Safeguards | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| HIPAA-Oriented Biannual Review | — | Paid Option | Paid Option | ✓ |
| Administrative Account Separation | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Option to Sign a BAA with Massif MSP if ePHI Access Expected | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Policy Documentation Aid | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Risk Register Aid | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Evidence/Documentation Portal Aid | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remediation Log Aid | Paid Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Best for: |
Potential clients, solo providers, clinicians, and midwives with a current IT provider looking for
co-managed healthcare emphasis OR those looking for immediate support.
|
Clinicians who already receive EHR, email, billing,
or practice-management services from a network or another organization.
|
Solo therapists and clinicians who want an IT partner managing their technology.
|
Group practices that need ongoing management of users,
devices, security, and technology.
|
| How to Get Started | Find Out More | Get Started | Talk to Massif | Explore On Belay! |
Get An Initial Tech Support Assessment
Massif MSP supports providers with their technical needs.
Fill out the form below to schedule a phone or in-person initial assessment.
Please do not include Protected Health Information (PHI) or sensitive patient details in this form-thank you!
Free HIPAA Planning Resources
Use the official government guidance and checklists to begin your HIPAA Alignment planning:
- HHS HIPAA Guidance Materials
- HHS Security Risk Assessment Tool to review your alignment with HIPAA.
- (Easier to use) Excel Spreadsheet Format of HHS Security Risk Assessment Tool
- Sample Businesss Associate Agreement and some BAA requirements.
Healthcare Worker Discounts
Many providers provide discounts for select healthcare workers.
As we identify them we will include them here, some other places like credit card providers may offer better discounts,
but it's a good starting point for discounts:
HP Computers which when verified gives you more discounts.
Dell Computers
NASW-ME National Association of Social Workers Maine Chapter Member Discounts
