Numerous privacy incidents at hospitals, IT suppliers and other healthcare organizations captured public attention last month.
Cybersecurity
Though the rise in cybersecurity incidents has created an increased push for hospitals to be more vigilant, clinicians and executives continue to fall into cybersecurity traps.
Wood Ranch Medical announced Sept. 18 that it will close in December after a ransomware attack caused the Simi Valley, Calif.-based medical clinic to lose all access to its patients' medical records.
Omaha, Neb.-based CHI Health Lakeside Hospital announced Sept. 27 it was hit by a ransomware attack that may have exposed patients' protected health information, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
Rowlett, Texas-based Berry Family Services, which provides health services to people with disabilities, was hit with a ransomware attack July 10 that barred providers from accessing computer systems.
Advertisement
Corporate board members should be held more accountable to verify cybersecurity risks and ask questions about cyber efforts, governance experts told The Wall Street Journal.
More than 710,000 patients may have had their information exposed as result of 44 data breach incidents reported in August, according to data from HHS' Office for Civil Rights database and cited by JD Supra.
As of Oct. 1, health insurance providers in Maryland must notify the Maryland Insurance Administration if patient information is exposed in a cybersecurity incident, according to the HIPAA Journal.
Seventy-one percent of data breaches at hospitals comprise financial or demographic information that may cause identity theft or fraud, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
After experiencing a ransomware attack Sept. 20, Gillette, Wyo.-based Campbell County Health's IT Director Matt Sabus said there has been no evidence that patient information was compromised, according to the Gillette News Record.