Cyberattacks in the healthcare industry have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, with 20 percent of Americans having a healthcare provider hit by a cyberattack in the last 12 months.

As healthcare data breaches are surging, so are ransom demands, with hackers asking for $4.6 million on average, according to an April 29 report published by BakerHostetler.

Allscripts Developer Program, a health IT innovation initiative within the Chicago-based EHR vendor's business, launched a new program that aims to increase diversity across the health IT industry and expand resources for underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Four of the top vendors hospitals use to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive program are Allscripts, Cerner, Epic and Meditech, according to ONC data.

From their thoughts on crafting an authentic brand voice to combating COVID-19 misinformation to executing a strong digital front door strategy, here are six key quotes about healthcare marketing and communications that hospital executives recently shared with Becker's Hospital Review:

Cerner reported $172.3 million in net earnings for the first quarter of 2021, up 17 percent from $147.2 million during the same period last year. 

Artificial intelligence is viewed as innovative technology that simplifies hard or tedious tasks. Yet, the work of the people who support AI by doing the behind-the-scenes labor is often overlooked, according to a May 4 report by the Cambridge, Mass.-based MIT Sloan School of Management.

Scripps Health websites are still down after a May 1 cyberattack, and patients are turning to Facebook to see if their appointments and surgeries are still on. 

Cerner CEO and Chair Brent Shafer will depart from his position, the Kansas City, Mo.-based EHR company said May 5. 

Forty-four healthcare providers including Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health have joined Connecticut's statewide health information exchange, which went live May 3, the CT Mirror reports.

Healthcare organizations don't need all new technology to revamp care — they can often optimize around the tools and resources they already have to determine where to add value and achieve their goals. 

A cardiologist would evaluate a patient's chest pain by listening to their heart and measuring their pulse and blood pressure, but as a psychiatrist, Daniel Barron, MD, PhD, evaluates a patient's symptoms the same way they were evaluated 100 years ago: by asking a patient what's wrong, according to an April 29 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.

More than 2 million mobile mental health apps have been developed, yet the effectiveness of these apps reaching their potential is understudied, according to an April 29 study published in JMIR Publications. 

Human-centered design is gaining traction in healthcare as patients demand a more convenient, seamless care process.

U.S. advertisers are on pace to spend $11.36 billion on streaming TV commercials in 2021, but some roadblocks are preventing companies from monitoring their target reach, according to a May 4 Bloomberg report.

More than 2 million people were affected by data breaches in April, nearly double the number affected in March.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a vendor to gather information on EHR design, data capabilities, delivery and acquisition planning, according to an April 29 contractor listing.

Collective Health, a digital employer health benefits startup, recently closed a $280 million series F financing round. 

CareCloud, a Miami-based EHR and practice management software provider, has agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to drum up sales of its EHR products, the U.S. Department of Justice said April 30. 

Toby Cosgrove, MD, former president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, has joined Providence's digital health spinout DexCare as a member of its board of directors.