Unit 3 Cma110 Unit 4

Competency Three-CMA110
In the era that we live in, computers hold our very existence by having all of our information saved to them. From pictures of our families, to person documents like tax forms or medical records, almost all of these things are stored in some electronic form. This information is typically stored on computers with only one copy of the information, but what would happen if that computer or multiple computers failed? What would happen to all that important information and memories? In some cases they can be recovered but at a high cost. Most data recovery services can cost up to $2000.00 dollars to recover lost data. This can all be avoided by backing up data periodically.
Backing up data is very important for many reasons, may it be for personal, or business reasons. From a personal perspective backing up data saves time, money, and frustration. Most people generally wouldn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on something that can cost them little to no money at all. In a medical practice, it’s especially important to back up data because somebody's life can literally be on the line. To know what type data backup
is right for you, we must first look at the different types with their advantages and disadvantages.
A full system backup creates a complete copy of the information stored on the computer, and can be stored and moved to other devices.
The downside of a full system backup is that they usually take up a large amount of time and data. A differential backup can restore data on a computer with a full system backup by making copies of changed files since the last full system backup. This typically requires less storage space then a full system backup, but it's not the most time efficient method. An incremental backup has the same concept as a differential backup, but has multiple steps, and requires an eventual full system backup. Finally is a selective backup which lets the user choose which files they would like to save, one of the disadvantages of this is depending on the files selected, the user might not be able to restore all of
them.
Maintaining the security of electronic personal health information is very important for multiple reasons. Patient information is typically stored on site and off site using cloud computing. This ensures that if something happens to the data in one place, the data is still saved and accessible. The cloud computing is usually provided by third party businesses, and by law these companies are required to enter into HIPAA-compliant business associate agreements with the medical practices. This means that the data of patients should stay confidential and shown only to those who have a reason and authorization to see. The information that is stored in these servers includes confidential information such as social security numbers, birthdates, and current medical history. If this information wasn't protected and confidential, the patient's safety is at risk because the patient and physician relationship could diminish.
With modern cloud services, information can be stored easier, and at little to no cost. With the release of Google storage. With a low cost and ease of access, google drive storage is a perfect way to store data for less then $2.00 dollars/month for 100 gigs. Cloud storage isn't a good way to store whole hard drives, but it's great for storing important files and info. To begin, download the Google drive utility app onto your computer. Once downloaded, run the app and sign in using a google drive account. Next navigate through the various setup screens until you get to a page that tells you “you’re all set!”. Last, you will be redirected to an explorer window and all the previous documents saved to google will appear in a folder. Now you have access to google drive files on your hard drive!