Switching IT providers: a checklist for dental practices

Practices often switch IT providers because the old one stopped answering, which is exactly when a handover goes wrong. This checklist covers what to collect, what to test and what to remove, so nothing your office depends on is left in someone else's name.

Before you give notice

Read your current contract for the notice period and for anything it says about handing over documentation. Then ask your current provider for the items below in writing, with a date. It is easier to get all of this while the old provider is still under contract.

Admin accounts and passwords

• The administrator login for the server and for every workstation.
• Any password manager or vault they kept for your office. Ask for an export, not a screenshot.
• A list of every user account, so you can remove former staff while you are at it.

Every account that runs your office should be in the practice’s name, with an email address the practice controls. Accounts registered to the provider’s own email are the hardest to get back.

Domain, DNS and email

• The login for your domain registrar, and the renewal date. If the domain lapses, your website and email go with it.
• Where your DNS is hosted, and that login too.
• A global administrator account for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace that belongs to the practice, not to the provider.
• Who pays the email and Microsoft 365 licences, and whether the subscription is billed through the provider. If it is, plan how it moves.

Firewall, Wi-Fi and internet

• The admin login for the firewall, and whether its security subscriptions are current and in whose name.
• The admin login for the Wi-Fi access points, plus the staff and guest network passwords.
• The internet service account number and who is listed as an authorized contact.

Backups and a test restore

• Where the backups are: a local device, a cloud service, or both.
• Who pays for the backup service, and whether the account can move to the practice or the new provider.
• Any encryption key or password for the backups. Without it, the backup is unreadable.

Before the old provider leaves, have the new one restore a real file, and ideally a copy of the practice database, while you watch. That is the only way to know the backups work.

Software vendors and licences

• Support phone numbers and customer numbers for your practice-management software, imaging, e-claims and any other dental software.
• Licence keys and registration details.
• Who each vendor lists as an authorized contact. Call each vendor and add the practice and the new provider.

Documentation

• A list of every computer, printer, scanner and imaging device, with ages and warranty dates.
• A network diagram, or at least a list of what plugs into what, with any fixed IP addresses.
• Notes on anything unusual: the sensor that only works on one PC, the scheduled task that runs the nightly export.

The business associate agreement

45 CFR 164.308(b) says a covered entity may let a business associate create, receive, maintain or transmit electronic patient information only with satisfactory written assurances that it will safeguard it. In practice, have the new provider’s agreement in place before they touch your systems, and confirm the details with your compliance adviser.

Remote access to remove

Old providers usually leave monitoring agents and remote-control tools on every machine. Once the handover is done:

• Uninstall the old provider’s monitoring and remote access software from every computer and the server.
• Remove their accounts from the firewall, VPN, Microsoft 365 and any vendor portals.
• Change the admin passwords they knew.

Do this after the new provider has its own access working, not before.

The overlap period

Plan for a few weeks where both providers have access. The new provider documents what is there, checks the backups, and fixes anything urgent. The old provider stays available for questions. Agree an end date, and remove the old access on that day.

Where we come in

We take over dental offices from previous providers and run the checklist above as part of IT maintenance and support. Start with a free on-site assessment.