Once again health care institutions find themselves behind the technology curve. The latest challenge: protecting themselves from computer viruses that can quickly steal patient information.
Clinicians took years to move to electronic health record (EHR) systems, many doing so only because the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) made the migration necessary.
In a sense, the EHR mandate has made it easier for the latest viruses, known as "ransomware," to gather private information, since virtually all patient information is now digitally stored.
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Ransomware, reports Modern Healthcare, has been infiltrating and infecting health systems large and small. A recent spate of attacks has clinics and other systems on red alert. Not surprisingly, the online publication says, health system IT departments were taken unawares by the spyware and are finding an effective response to be elusive.
Modern Healthcare says six healthcare systems, including the large provider MedStar, were victims of ransomware just in the last month. The computer security industry is busy creating safeguards to build up system firewalls, but with IT departments strapped for manpower and funds, more invasions are anticipated as the industry adjusts once again to the modern age of health information collection and protection.
"It's a troubling trend," Katherine Keefe told Modern Healthcare. Troubling, yet lucrative for her business. Keefe is head of breach response services for Beazley, which sells breach insurance, including coverage for ransom payments. "We had our biggest [breach] incident month last month, and a lot of it was attributable to ransomware."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
