This paper outlines the design of a secure telecommunications network for a multi-location dental care practice operating across five city offices and supporting four mobile dentists. The proposed solution integrates a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) to unify patient databases and enable high-speed, organization-wide data access, alongside a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to provide remote dentists with secure connectivity. The paper identifies key information assets requiring protection, evaluates the benefits of each technology, and addresses associated security risks — including denial-of-service attacks, viruses, and unauthorized intranet access. Risk mitigation strategies such as firewalls, antivirus software, encryption, strong authentication, and HIPAA-compliant auditing are also presented.
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In an effort to provide better care for its patients, there is a need to design a network capable of supporting a new multi-location dental care practice. This report provides a clear set of requirements for the network solution, identifies the information to be protected along with its related security requirements, and outlines the types of network components, devices, and equipment needed to serve both stationary offices and four mobile dentists. A network design is then proposed, followed by an explanation of the solution's benefits and an identification of its associated risks and mitigation strategies.
With five dental offices currently operating, the network must integrate the databases of all five locations within the city into a single database where organization-wide resources — including patients' records — are stored and accessible. Patient data and daily schedules must be retrievable as quickly as possible, meaning the new network must support high-speed data transfer. Additionally, the design must include a remote access solution enabling mobile computing and full organizational resource access for the four dentists who provide dental checkups to elderly patients in their homes, at senior citizen centers, and to school children at three inner-city elementary schools. Most importantly, the new network must protect patients' records and information at all times.
With the network requirements outlined above, the dental offices must ensure that security protocols are in place to protect their information assets. These assets include operational data, patients' records, and daily schedules. To accurately provide this data protection, information security procedures — including availability, authorization, authentication, confidentiality, and integrity — must be implemented across the entire network.
To satisfy the requirements of the new network, a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) must be implemented to interconnect all five dental offices within the city. MAN is an appropriate choice because it provides high-speed network connectivity, and all five offices are located within the same geographic region — the defining characteristic of MAN networks. MAN also provides real-time transaction backup systems (White, 2011), a capability that is indispensable for dental care facilities, since any loss of patient records could delay the provision of care.
In order to provide remote computing and secure resource access to the four mobile dentists, a VPN connection must also be implemented. A VPN server will be installed on the network so that when a mobile dentist wishes to connect to the intranet, the request is routed to the VPN server for processing. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a data network connection that uses the public internet while providing privacy through the use of tunneling protocols (White, 2011). VPN also provides data encryption, an essential feature for protecting data integrity while information is in transit.
"Speed, scalability, and secure remote access benefits"
"Threats facing MAN and VPN deployments"
"Firewalls, encryption, and HIPAA compliance measures"
Implementing a MAN connection for the dental offices will provide a merged common database for all patients' records and high-speed data access for both dentists and their assistants. VPN will provide mobile and remote dentists with secure access to the organization's resources whenever needed. The implementation of these two technologies is also scalable, making it economically efficient for the organization should it plan future acquisitions within the same metropolitan area.
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