Industry News

Survey: 84% of Health Care Organizations
Lack a Cybersecurity Leader

A recent survey conducted by Black Book Research indicated the majority of health care provider and payer organizations are not taking cybersecurity seriously enough. Responses included 323 strategic decision makers from the United States.

Black Book recently announced key findings from a 2017 survey that found that more than eight in 10 provider organizations lack a reliable enterprise leader for cybersecurity, while only 11% plan to get a cybersecurity officer in 2018. When it comes to payers, 31% have an established manager for cybersecurity programs currently, with 44% planning to recruit a candidate in the new year.

Black Book revealed that the health care industry continues to underestimate security threats as attackers continue to seek data and monetary gain. “The low security posture of most health care organizations may prove a target demographic for which these attacks are successful,” says Doug Brown, managing partner of Black Book.

The survey also advised on the hesitation of health care provider organizations in adopting the best practices for cybersecurity. Fifty-four percent of respondents admitted they do not conduct regular risk assessments, while 39% don’t carry out regular penetration testing on their firewalls. “These results may not be all that surprising, however, considering some of the new solution providers are offering passive monitoring for their networks and the upfront costs have been dramatically slashed,” Brown says.

However, 92% of the C-suite officers surveyed state that cybersecurity and the threat of data breach are still not major talking points with their board of directors.

“Cybersecurity has to be a top-down strategic initiative as it’s far too difficult for IT security teams to achieve their goals without the board leading the charge,” Brown says. Fifteen percent of all health care organizations responding to the survey claim to be taking cybersecurity seriously by having a chief information security officer in charge now.

For attackers looking to steal valuable data with minimal effort, the health care industry is a prime target. “The critical role of medical facilities, combined with poor security practices and lack of resources, make them vulnerable to financially and politically motivated attacks,” Brown says.

Eighty-nine percent of respondents reported that, in 2018, budgeted IT funds are dedicated toward primarily business functions with provable business cases and only a small fraction is being allocated to cybersecurity.

— Source: Black Book Research

Former ONC Director DeSalvo Joins Dell Medical School Faculty

Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, a nationally known physician leader working at the intersection of public health, medicine, and HIT, is joining the faculty at the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to coming to Dell Medical School, DeSalvo built an impressive career in academic general internal medicine and public health. In 2014, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as national coordinator for HIT, and she concurrently served as assistant secretary for health in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

At Dell Med, she will join a growing health policy group that includes senior health policy advisor Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, who led the FDA and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under President George W. Bush, and Lisa Kirsch, a veteran Texas Health and Human Services Commission leader who specializes in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program issues.

“Karen is an absolute star who is defining the future of medicine. She’s held positions in the White House and was critical to the recovery in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She recognizes that data is the key to improving the health of populations,” says Clay Johnston, MD, PhD, dean of the Dell Medical School. “This also demonstrates the important role Dell Med can play in vital ongoing policy conversations, at every level of government, about ways to move the system’s focus toward health, not health care.”

DeSalvo will serve as a professor in the division of primary care and value-based health, with a primary appointment in the department of internal medicine and secondary appointment in the department of population health. She will work on a range of projects that involve different parts of the medical school and take advantage of the cutting-edge work happening on the University of Texas campus in the areas of community health, medical care, and research related to the social determinants of health. And she will look to leverage technology and digital health in traditional public health programs and strategies—both to advance health beyond the traditional medical model and to address issues where people live, learn, work, and play.

“The innovation that’s happening here is exciting, and I look forward to joining the dynamic and distinguished team of leaders,” DeSalvo says.

— Source: The University of Texas Dell Medical School