Counsyl is a medical technology company specializing in DNA screening. Their work empowers patients to take action and preventative measures to reduce health risks. With a goal of helping more people make smart decisions regarding their health, their family, and their future, Counsyl equips their on-the-go staff with iPads to make it easier to interact with clients, doctors, and clinics.
Mobilizing the 21st century sales force
“Many medical offices still use a lot of paper,” said Amber Miller, IT manager at Counsyl. “They’re really focused on using a lot of older technologies.” The vision at Counsyl is a bit different. They strive to be at the forefront of technology in the medical field, and one way to accomplish their mission is to mobilize their healthcare sales force with iPads and custom built apps. “We launched the iPad program a couple years back, and what we’ve found is that our reps love it,” said Matt Toresco, field sales trainer at Counsyl. “We’ve implemented an e-detailing tool we call ShowPad that allows all of our reps to decrease the workload weight in their bag by keeping everything electronic.” With immediate, digital access to the resources they need, Counsyl’s staff can leverage ShowPad to display visual aids and run custom reports right in front of the physician—all from their iPad.
Selecting the right management tool
For a very small IT team, managing over 900 devices across the country is no small feat. When Counsyl first started their iPad program, they initially used spreadsheets to keep track of their devices, prior to testing the waters with a mobile device management (MDM) solution. Counsyl quickly found that the MDM solution they were using had system limitations and lacked the robust Apple management capabilities they needed. In particular, imaging was a tedious, time-consuming task that required unwrapping and physically touching each device. After researching, Counsyl upgraded to Jamf Pro for their device management needs. Jamf Pro was able to leverage Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and empower IT to set up a new iPad in a fraction of the time—without ever tearing the shrink-wrap. “It takes a lot of weight off of our IT administrators, who used to spend maybe a few hours setting up a bunch of new iPads. Now, it’s all automated,” said Miller. When a new employee gets an iPad at Counsyl, the device automatically downloads the profiles needed for Wi-Fi, VPN, and applicable applications that help Counsyl’s staff do their jobs. “They’re ready to roll by entering in their credentials. Using Jamf Pro just makes everything way more efficient,” according to Miller.
Our employees love it. Being able to send these types of commands when the device isn’t in front of them; that’s what makes IT magical.
Protecting sensitive healthcare information
When addressing Protected Health Information (PHI) regulations, protecting patients’ private data is of the utmost importance. By managing their iPads with the Jamf Pro, Counsyl is able to adhere to PHI and also comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by ensuring sensitive information is locked down. If a vulnerability is discovered, security updates can be remotely pushed to the device to address the concern. Another crucial security feature Counsyl now has with Jamf Pro is the ability to quickly lock or wipe a stolen or lost iPad. Regardless of where a device is in the world, Counsyl’s IT staff can send a command to the device which either locks it—preventing others from accessing any material on the device—or they can wipe the device and delete any material that the device hosts. Either way, Counsyl can rest easy knowing their data is protected no matter what the circumstance. “Our employees love it. Being able to send these types of commands when the device isn’t in front of them; that’s what makes IT magical,” said Ben Luo, Counsyl IT Administrator. And that magic is what keeps Counsyl’s staff and clients connected, informed, and secure.
