The Feb. 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the clearinghouse vendor that connects providers with insurance payers, including Medicare, has caused unprecedented challenges and had a critical financial impact on payments to providers nationwide. UnitedHealthcare Group (UHG), the parent company of Change, confirmed on March 8 that it is making significant progress to restore all systems….
Implications of Florida’s Electronic Health Records Data Storage Law
Healthcare is a high-priority target for cyber criminals. State-level measures, such as a new Florida law, fail to address the root problems of data security but may affect how providers manage patient data.
English Hospitals Divert Ambulances After Ransomware Cyber Attack
LONDON (Reuters)—Hospitals and doctors’ surgeries across England were forced to turn away patients and cancel appointments on Friday after a nationwide ‘ransomware’ cyber attack crippled some computer systems in the state-run health service. The U.K. National Health Service (NHS) said 16 organizations had been affected by the cyber attack but said it had not been…
Cyber Safety in the HIPAA Age
Ready for a cyber checkup? Auditing your health IT policies, safeguarding your hardware and educating your staff on the importance of data security should be routine, according to industry experts…
Banner Health Says Hackers May Have Gained Access to Patient Data
(Reuters)—Banner Health, a non-profit organization that runs a chain of hospitals, says hackers may have gained unauthorized access to patient, physician and beneficiary data. Phoenix-based Banner said it was notifying 3.7 million patients, health plan members, food and beverage customers, physicians and healthcare providers about the attack, which occurred between June 23 and July 7….
U.S., Canada Issue Joint Alert on Ransomware after Hospital Attacks
(Reuters)—The U.S. and Canada on Thursday issued a rare joint cyber alert, warning against a recent surge in extortion attacks that infect computers with viruses known as “ransomware,” which encrypt data and demand payments for it to be unlocked. The warning follows reports from several private security firms that they expect the crisis to worsen,…
Cyber Risks: A New Area of Liability for Medical Practices
Computerization of healthcare in general, and medical records in particular, has opened additional areas of liability for medical practices that many may not be addressing. A data breach of patient records can have major financial and business impacts on the practice when they occur. Data Intrusions Increasing The number of data intrusions hit a record…