In the first part of a two-part Triage series, Gina Bertolini, Sarah Carlins, and Jianne McDonald delve into recent initiatives by the Department of Health and Human Services that tackle cybersecurity risks faced by hospitals and health systems across the nation. The article highlights the significant increase in cybersecurity incidents involving healthcare providers over the past five years. According to a report by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within HHS, there was a nearly 300% surge in large data breaches involving ransomware from 2018 to 2022.
The article also emphasizes that interoperability is a key government priority and remote care models are becoming increasingly popular. However, this poses ongoing risks to healthcare providers due to the demand for big data to support complex technologies. In this part of the series, Sarah Carlins and Jianne McDonald examine recent recommendations by OCR for healthcare providers and patients regarding cybersecurity measures in telehealth. They also discuss the federal government’s emphasis on effective communication about the privacy and security of electronic health information as essential for quality care in telehealth settings.
