To maintain CareConnect connectivity after the PPN (Provincial Provider Network) shutdown, you need to migrate to one of three approved network pathways: direct internet connection with IPsec VPN tunnel, managed service provider network with dedicated circuits, or health authority-provided connectivity through PHSA’s replacement infrastructure. Most Victoria nonprofits complete the technical migration in 3-5 business days once equipment and circuits are provisioned, but planning should start 60-90 days before your shutdown date.
Why is the PPN network shutting down and what does it mean for your operations?
The Provincial Provider Network served as the secure backbone connecting community clinics, nonprofit health providers, and social service organizations to provincial health systems like CareConnect, PharmaNet, and client information databases. The province is decommissioning PPN infrastructure because maintaining the aging network has become cost-prohibitive compared to modern alternatives.
For your organization, this means the physical network connection you’ve relied on for years will stop working on your assigned shutdown date. Your staff won’t be able to access patient records, process prescriptions, or retrieve client histories until you’ve established a replacement connection that meets provincial security standards.
The shutdown affects every workflow that touches provincial systems. Intake stops because you can’t verify client eligibility. Care coordination breaks down because you can’t see hospital discharge summaries. Billing freezes because you can’t submit claims through the health authority portal.
Victoria nonprofits handling health information face PIPA breach reporting obligations if client data becomes inaccessible during the transition, with mandatory reporting to the BC Privacy Commissioner within 72 hours of discovering the incident.
The technical requirements haven’t changed—you still need the same security, encryption, and uptime standards—but the infrastructure delivering those requirements is completely different.
What are the three approved migration pathways to replace PPN connectivity?
The province has certified three technical approaches that meet security and reliability standards for accessing health information systems. Each pathway offers different trade-offs between cost, complexity, and control.
The direct internet pathway uses your existing business internet connection enhanced with an IPsec VPN tunnel to create an encrypted pathway to provincial systems. You’ll need a business-grade internet circuit with guaranteed uptime (typically 99.5% or better), static IP addresses, and compatible firewall hardware that can maintain the VPN tunnel. This option gives you the most control but places responsibility for uptime and security entirely on your organization.
The managed service provider pathway involves contracting with an approved MSP who provides dedicated network circuits, managed firewalls, and 24/7 monitoring of your connection to provincial systems. The MSP handles technical maintenance, security patches, and troubleshooting, but you’re dependent on their response times and subject to their service contract terms.
The health authority-provided pathway through PHSA (Provincial Health Services Authority) offers centrally-managed connectivity similar to the old PPN model. PHSA provisions circuits, manages security, and handles technical support, but availability is limited to specific organization types and geographic areas, with Victoria nonprofits often facing 6-12 month wait times for provisioning.
Most Victoria nonprofits choose either the direct internet pathway if they have internal IT resources or the managed service provider pathway if they need external support. The health authority pathway works best for larger organizations with complex multi-site requirements.
How do you ensure continuous access to donor and client systems during the migration?
Maintaining uptime during the transition requires running parallel systems until you’ve confirmed the new pathway works reliably. You can’t simply disconnect PPN and hope the replacement works—you need overlap.
Start by documenting every system that currently uses PPN connectivity. This includes obvious applications like CareConnect and PharmaNet, but also background services like automated backup jobs, remote desktop connections, and integrated billing systems. Many Victoria nonprofits discover they’re using PPN for 8-12 different services they didn’t initially realize depended on that network.
Schedule your new circuit installation and VPN configuration at least two weeks before your PPN shutdown date. This gives you time to test thoroughly while the old connection still works as a fallback. Test during actual working hours with real staff performing real tasks—not just a ping test from the IT closet.
Create a rollback plan that documents exactly how to switch back to PPN if the new pathway fails during the transition window. This means keeping PPN equipment connected and powered until you’ve run the new pathway successfully for at least 72 hours covering a full business cycle.
Wally, who manages operations for a retail organization that went through a similar network transition, worked with a local provider who “worked with us to address priority issues as budget would allow and implemented a project plan to update our network, software systems, and work with our existing operations.” The phased approach meant systems stayed operational throughout the transition period.
Plan for the worst-case scenario: complete connectivity loss during your busiest period. Have paper backup processes ready for client intake, prescription processing, and appointment scheduling. Your staff needs to know exactly what to do manually if systems go down.
What security and compliance requirements must your replacement connection meet?
Provincial health information systems require specific technical security controls that go beyond standard business internet security. Your replacement pathway must meet these requirements or you’ll fail certification and lose access.
Encryption standards require AES-256 for data in transit through VPN tunnels, with Perfect Forward Secrecy enabled to protect historical data if encryption keys are ever compromised. Your firewall must support IKEv2 or newer protocols—older IPsec implementations won’t pass certification.
Authentication requires multi-factor verification for administrative access to network equipment and VPN configurations. Single-password access to systems handling health information violates provincial standards and creates liability under PIPA.
Logging and monitoring requirements mandate that you retain network access logs for minimum 13 months and review them quarterly for unauthorized access attempts. These logs must capture source IP, destination system, timestamp, and user identity for every connection to provincial systems.
BC’s PIPA legislation holds nonprofits to higher privacy standards than federal PIPEDA, requiring documented security policies, regular risk assessments, and breach notification protocols. Your replacement network must support these compliance requirements with technical controls, not just policy documents.
Firewall rules must follow a default-deny model, explicitly permitting only the specific provincial systems your organization is authorized to access. Open internet access from the same network segment that connects to health systems creates unacceptable risk and will fail security audits.
Your replacement pathway needs documented change management procedures that require testing and approval before any network configuration changes go live. Ad-hoc changes to firewall rules or VPN settings create security gaps and compliance violations.
When should you start planning the migration and what timeline should you expect?
The technical work takes 3-5 business days once equipment arrives, but the full process from planning to cutover typically requires 60-90 days because of dependencies outside your control.
Start 90 days before your assigned PPN shutdown date by requesting quotes from internet service providers for business circuits with static IPs and guaranteed uptime SLAs. Circuit provisioning in Victoria typically takes 30-45 days from order to installation, longer in Duncan or rural areas where fiber availability is limited.
At the 60-day mark, you should have selected your pathway, ordered circuits, and begun firewall configuration planning. This is when you document current PPN-dependent systems and create your testing checklist. Waiting until 30 days out leaves no buffer for problems.
The 30-day point is when equipment should arrive and installation should begin. Your new circuit needs to be live and testable at least two weeks before PPN shutdown to allow proper validation. Testing takes longer than expected because you’re coordinating with provincial system administrators who need to whitelist your new IP addresses and verify your security configuration.
The final two weeks before shutdown are for parallel operation and staff training. Your team needs hands-on time with any new login procedures, VPN clients, or access methods before the old system disappears. Schedule extra IT support coverage during this period.
Plan for a 48-hour hypercare period immediately after PPN disconnection where you’re monitoring systems constantly and ready to respond to issues instantly. This is when hidden dependencies reveal themselves and staff encounter workflows that behave differently on the new network.
Budget an extra 15-20% contingency time beyond the nominal timeline. Circuit installation delays, equipment compatibility issues, and provincial system configuration problems are common and unpredictable.
How does working with a local Victoria IT provider simplify the PPN migration?
Managing a network migration that affects client care and donor data requires immediate access to people who understand both the technical requirements and the stakes for your organization. When testing reveals your new VPN tunnel drops connections every 90 minutes, you need someone who answers the phone and fixes it now—not a ticket queue or callback promise.
You’ve seen Victoria nonprofits stuck waiting for mainland technicians during BC Gaming grant deadlines while board members ask why technology problems are threatening funding. You understand the anxiety of handling sensitive donor credit card information and beneficiary data without a full-time IT person, wondering if you’re meeting PIPA requirements or risking everything.
Since 2012, DataStream Networks has served Vancouver Island organizations with live people answering phones—no voicemail, phone tree, or long wait times. Local technicians in Victoria, Nanaimo, Duncan, and Cobble Hill means no ferry delays when on-site work is needed, and most problems get fixed remotely within minutes.
The PPN migration process follows three clear steps:
- Call and talk to a real Victoria technician immediately who understands nonprofit technology and health information compliance needs, mapping your current PPN-dependent systems and designing a replacement pathway that maintains uptime.
- Get your new circuit, firewall, and VPN configuration implemented and tested while PPN remains active as fallback, with remote support fixing issues within minutes as they’re discovered during testing.
- Cut over to the new pathway with a local technician monitoring your systems in real-time, ready to roll back or troubleshoot instantly if problems emerge during the transition.
After migration, you process client intake smoothly with reliable CareConnect access, knowing your connection meets PIPA security standards and provincial certification requirements. Your staff reaches real people immediately when issues arise, without wondering if help will arrive before a grant deadline or fundraising campaign suffers.
You submit health authority reports confidently with systems that work reliably, meeting compliance requirements without diverting mission dollars to emergency fixes or data breach responses.
Call (250) 929-0745 to talk to a real Victoria technician now about your PPN migration timeline and replacement pathway options. Or visit our Victoria IT support page to learn more about how local support eliminates the ferry delays and response-time anxiety that come with mainland providers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my existing business internet connection for CareConnect access after PPN shutdown?
Yes, if your current internet circuit meets business-grade standards with guaranteed uptime SLAs, static IP addresses, and sufficient bandwidth for health system traffic. You’ll need to add VPN tunnel configuration and enhanced firewall rules, but the underlying circuit can often remain the same. Most residential-grade connections lack the reliability and static IPs required for provincial system certification.
What happens to my data if connectivity fails during the migration?
Your local data remains intact and accessible through your internal network—you lose only the connection to provincial systems like CareConnect and PharmaNet. Client records stored on your local servers stay available for read-only reference. However, you cannot submit new claims, retrieve updated records from hospitals, or process prescriptions until connectivity is restored, which is why parallel operation and rollback planning are critical.
Do I need different internet service or can my current provider support the migration?
Your current provider can likely support the migration if they offer business-grade circuits with static IPs and SLA guarantees. However, some providers lack experience configuring IPsec VPN tunnels to provincial health systems or don’t offer the uptime guarantees required for certification. Evaluate whether your provider can meet technical requirements and response time needs before committing to their circuit for health information access.
How much does it cost to migrate from PPN to a replacement pathway?
Costs vary by pathway and organization size. Direct internet with VPN typically requires $150-$400 monthly for business circuits plus one-time firewall hardware ($800-$2,500) and configuration labor. Managed IT services that include network management run $150–$225 per user monthly, covering circuits, equipment, monitoring, and support. Health authority-provided pathways may have lower direct costs but longer wait times and less flexibility for nonprofit-specific needs.
What certifications or approvals does my new connection need from the health authority?
Your replacement pathway must pass a security certification process administered by the health authority or PHSA, verifying encryption standards, firewall configuration, access controls, and logging capabilities. The certification process requires submitting network diagrams, security policies, and configuration documentation, followed by technical testing of your VPN tunnel and access controls. Approval typically takes 5-10 business days after submission if documentation is complete and configuration meets standards.
