Healthcare Organizations Across the U. S. Switch to OpenDNS, Get Safer, More Reliable Internet and Save Thousands Per Year
Healthcare Industry Embraces OpenDNS as DNS Infrastructure, Security Solution
San Francisco (PRWEB) March 18, 2009
OpenDNS, provider of the award-winning service that makes the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable, today announced healthcare organizations across the country are switching to OpenDNS in masses for all Web content filtering and DNS infrastructure needs. The OpenDNS customer adoption momentum in the healthcare industry is largely attributed to OpenDNS's superior performance and affordability - OpenDNS is completely free -- and the need for a Web content filter on Wi-Fi networks used by patients to access the Internet. Particularly in these trying economic times, network administrators at healthcare organizations, like all enterprises, seek to cut costs by switching to a Web content filtering solution that doesn't consume thousands of dollars of closely-guarded IT budget. OpenDNS customers in this space include health insurance provider Blue Cross and Blue Shield and hospitals across the United States, including some of the country's largest teaching hospitals.
"In the process of evaluating Web content filters, we received price quotes ranging from $8,000 to as high as $18,000 -- and that was just the fee for the initial start-up. We would also be incurring monthly charges," said Dennis Boisclair, Senior Network Administrator for Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, the teaching hospital of Brown University Medical School. "It was a no-brainer to go with OpenDNS. The transition to OpenDNS was pleasant and well worth it, and I'd absolutely recommend it to others."
Memorial Hospital today uses OpenDNS to protect some 1,600 users from inappropriate and malicious Web content, such as phishing sites and certain types of malware.
The experiences of Women's Hospital in Indianapolis, Lake Martin Community Hospital in Alabama and Good Shepherd Medical Center in Texas were no different. When Good Shepherd network administrators explored solutions to filter inappropriate content on the wireless network used by patients, network administrators experienced sticker shock. Ultimately they opted for OpenDNS because of the cost savings, ease-of-use and performance.
"OpenDNS is an easy-to-use filtering system that just works. It's wonderful," said Jeremy Blankenship, Network Technician for Good Shepherd Medical Center. "Most other solutions we looked at were between $15,000 and $30,000 upfront, and that doesn't include maintenance costs. As a not-for-profit hospital, it's very difficult to find the money for something like that. OpenDNS has saved us from having to buy a filtering solution."
"The ease of use, price, and functionality of OpenDNS made the decision to use the service easy," said Jonas Bowersock, Network Administrator at Lake Martin Community Hospital. "We're very happy with OpenDNS, as both Web filtering and anti-phishing rank high on our priorities list."
Miami, Florida-based Larkin Community Hospital, which employs a full-time staff of more than 500 practitioners, ranks Web content filtering among its top technology priorities. Having used a pricey appliance, and at a point where a new model would cost thousands of dollars, in addition to an annual subscription fee, Larkin IT staff were drawn to OpenDNS's free solution.
"OpenDNS is fantastic and I recommend it to everyone," said Elias Diek, Network Administrator for Larkin Community Hospital. "It's more responsive than our previous DNS service, it saves us thousand per year and helps us to control all of our computers with ease using the Web content filtering dashboard."
In addition to the cost savings OpenDNS provides, the service is a scalable security solution for large healthcare organizations with multiple locations. Before making the switch to OpenDNS, Regence BlueCross and BlueShield network administrators sought a Web content filtering tool to deploy throughout the not-for-profit health care company, which serves 3 million members in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Like lots of other large organizations seeking to increase network security, Regence BlueCross and BlueShield previously used a pricey Blue Coat appliance as its sole filtering solution, but it was lacking services that OpenDNS provides for free.
"OpenDNS gives us more layered protection for services that Blue Coat doesn't proxy for," says Charles Koenig, network administrator for Regence Blue Cross and Blue Shield. "Anti-Phishing is a big concern for us and since switching to OpenDNS our number of security related incidents has decreased."
About OpenDNS
OpenDNS is the leading provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. OpenDNS services enable consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, reduce costs and enforce Internet-use policies. OpenDNS is used today by millions of users and organizations around the world. For more information about OpenDNS, please visit: www. opendns. com
About Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island serves the Blackstone Valley of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The hospital is a teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the chief site for the medical school's primary care academic program housed in the Center for Primary Care. Its main campus is in Pawtucket, RI, with affiliates provide primary and ambulatory care services in Pawtucket and Central Falls and in Plainville, MA. Memorial Hospital also has a state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility in Pawtucket.
About Regence BlueCross and BlueShield
Regence is a not-for-profit health care company. It offers individual and group medical, dental, vision and life insurance, Medicare and other government programs, and pharmacy benefit management. It is the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain Region, serving members as Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (in Washington). Regence BlueCross and BlueShield is 3 million members strong and stewards more than $8.3 billion in member premiums annually and maintains reserves of more than $1 billion.
About Good Shepherd Medical Center
Good Shepherd Medical Center is a not-for-profit community hospital dedicated to creating a healthier future for the residents of Longview and the East Texas area. To ensure the continued well-being of our community, the Medical Center strives to provide quality, compassionate and comprehensive health related services to the whole person: body, mind and spirit. With a sensitivity to education and development of its medical staff, employees, volunteers and friends, the Medical Center will create a harmonious environment reflective of our caring and healing purpose.
About The Women's Hospital
The Women's Hospital is a full services hospital in Indiana, offering high-quality care and advanced security measures. The hospital continues to grow and enhance its services, often partnering with other top-level providers such as University Pediatric Association from Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis and Midwest Reproductive Medicine and High Pointe Rehab in Newburgh.
About Lake Martin Community Hospital
Lake Martin Community Hospital is located in Alabama. Dedicated to becoming one of the most effective rural community health care facilities in the state by treating the illness and maintaining the wellness of our patients and the community in the most cost effective manner, the Hospital is dedicated to providing support, education and development for a healthy community environment.
About Larkin Community Hospital
Larkin Community Hospital is located in Florida and has been serving the health care needs of South Miami and the surrounding communities for more than 35 years. The mission of Larkin Community Hospital is to provide the highest quality primary care, to serve the medical needs of its community, to honor the patient bill of rights and to ensure patient safety.
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