Cyber attacks – a new reality for health care organizations

By Claire Thayer, April 20, 2016

The healthcare industry as a whole is at a critical juncture in its efforts to curb medical identity theft, data breaches and health care fraud. More than any other industry, health care is now leading the way for the highest number of records breached - 84.4 million alone in the first half of 2015. Hospitals, health plans, health systems and provider organizations are all doubling down on efforts to address vulnerabilities related to cyber attacks. And, the sooner the better – as consumers are starting to take notice - about 50% say they wouldn’t hesitate to find another healthcare provider if they were concerned about the security of their medical records.

Cyber threats now have the full attention of the c-suite. A recent HIMSS Cybersecurity Survey finds:

• 87% of healthcare leaders indicated that information security had become a critical business priority
• 66% of healthcare organizations experienced a significant security incident
• 57% of healthcare organizations have allocated a full-time resource to address cybersecurity
• 81% of respondents believe more innovative and advanced tools are needed to combat security threats

These and issues pertaining to identity management in health care are the focus of a recent MCOL infographoid, co-sponsored by LexisNexis Healthcare, highlighted below:

MCOL’s weekly infoGraphoid is a benefit for MCOL Basic members and released each Wednesday as part of the MCOL Daily Factoid e-newsletter distribution service – find out more here.