Prioritizing patient data may put patients at risk — 5 things to know

Healthcare organizations often prioritize protecting patients’ electronic health records, which leaves the organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks and puts patients at risk, as found in a new Independent Survey Evaluators report, according to Healthcare IT News.

Advertisement

Here are five things to know:

1. By prioritizing patient information, organizations often do not work to combat the actual cybersecurity risks that directly impact patient health, such as the infiltration on an active medical device.

2. The report found many organizations used vendor products that were not appropriate for their organization, and the organizations did not use the systems correctly.

3. Many of the organizations’ leaders handled unsophisticated threats and left openings for attackers to get into information systems.

4. All of the hospitals in the report failed to address modern security issues, partly due to insufficient funding.

5. Healthcare organizations’ emphasis on prevention efforts, “have little value with regard to personally identifiable information or personal health information – the assets hospitals strive to protect most – yet they have direct consequences with regard to patient health,”  the authors concluded.

More healthcare news:
Physician signing bonus at $23k in 2015: 6 things to know
7 things for ASC leaders to know for Thursday — Feb. 25, 2016
Fraudulent billing comprises 68% of healthcare fraud — 5 key points

Advertisement

Next Up in ASC News

  • ASCs have taken center stage of many hospital and health systems’ growth and development strategies in recent years as they…

  • Germantown, Md.-based Capital Surgical Solutions plans to open a new ASC in Portland, Ore., in the fourth quarter of 2026,…

Advertisement

Comments are closed.