Skip to main content

3 min read

Your Practice's IT Person Is Leaving: A Handover Checklist

The short answer

When your practice's IT person is leaving, secure access first: the admin accounts, passwords, domain and EHR. Get everything written down while they're still there, and line up who takes over before their last day. A managed IT provider such as North Blue Networks in Orange County can take over with a documented handover, usually within two to three weeks.

Two medical staff members in scrubs at a clinic reception desk

The short answer

When your practice’s IT person gives notice, three things matter most, in this order: secure access before they go, get everything written down while they’re still there, and decide who takes over before their last day. Do those three and the change is a non-event. Skip them and you can find yourself locked out of your own email or EHR admin on the worst possible morning.

First: secure access before their last day

Make sure someone at the practice, not just the departing person, has working access to:

  • Email and accounts: the main admin login for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
  • Your EHR: the practice-level admin account, and the vendor’s support contact.
  • Your domain: the registrar account and where the domain’s DNS is managed. If this lapses, email and the website stop working.
  • The network: the firewall, Wi-Fi and any remote access settings.
  • Backups: where they go, and the login to the backup service.
  • Passwords: the practice’s password manager, if there is one.

On their last day, remove their access and change any passwords they knew, especially shared ones. That’s ordinary good practice, not a judgment on the person.

Get it written down

Most of what an IT person knows lives in their head. Before they go, ask them to write down, or walk someone through:

  • A list of computers and devices, and who uses each one
  • Software and licenses, with renewal dates
  • Vendor contacts: the EHR vendor, internet provider, phone system and printers
  • How the network is laid out, and anything unusual about it
  • How backups run and how to restore from them
  • Anything that runs on a schedule, like reports or updates

Line up who takes over

You have three realistic options: hire a replacement, move to a managed IT provider, or combine the two, with a part-time person supported by a managed team. Our article on in-house IT versus managed IT for healthcare practices walks through the trade-offs.

Whatever you choose, have it decided before the last day, so nothing goes unanswered in between.

What a good handover looks like

A good provider makes the switch feel uneventful. With us, it usually runs like this:

  1. Week 1: get to know your setup. We take stock of your computers, accounts and network, secure access, and plan the changeover with you.
  2. Week 2: take over. We put monitoring, protection and backups in place and take over support with a documented handover.
  3. Week 3: fine-tune. We smooth out the rough edges, answer your team’s questions and make sure everything is written down.

If they’ve already gone

Don’t panic. Start with the accounts that would hurt most to lose, usually email and the domain, and recover admin access through the providers. Then work outward from there. A new IT provider can take this on for you and document everything as they go.

How we help

North Blue Networks takes over IT for medical and dental practices across Orange County, often right after an IT person leaves. We secure access first, document your setup, and take over day-to-day support with our own team, after hours included.

If you’re facing this now, book a free IT check-in or call us. It’s a relaxed, no-obligation call to learn about your practice and what it needs. You can also read more about our IT support for medical practices.

Frequently asked questions

How much notice do we need to switch IT support?
Two to three weeks is usually enough for a full, documented handover. More notice makes it smoother, especially if your IT person can walk the new team through anything unusual before they go.
What if our IT person already left without handing anything over?
It happens more often than you'd think, and it's fixable. Admin access can usually be recovered through Microsoft or Google, your domain registrar and your software vendors. A new provider works out what you have and writes it down as they go. It takes a little longer, but you're not stuck.
Should we hire a replacement or switch to managed IT?
It depends on your size and what you run. Many smaller practices find a managed IT team covers more ground than one person can, including after-hours calls and security monitoring. Larger practices often keep an in-house person and add a managed provider alongside them.
Can a new IT provider work with our IT person before they leave?
Yes, and that's the best case. A few working sessions together is the fastest way to capture the things that never got written down.
Who can take over IT for a medical practice in Orange County?
North Blue Networks takes over IT for medical and dental practices across Orange County, from our office in Orange. We secure access first, document your setup, and take over day-to-day support with a written handover, usually within two to three weeks.

Related reading