Becker's Hospital Review

69 CIO / HEALTH IT 6 vulnerability points hackers target in hospital cyberattacks By Jackie Drees C yberattacks on healthcare organizations are increasing as hackers find new security vulnerabilities and double down on tactics such as ransomware and phishing attempts, accord- ing to a Feb. 2 report in The Wall Street Journal. Healthcare organizations have of- ten neglected cybersecurity basics, such as using two-factor authenti- cation, said Austin Berglas, global head of professional services at cy- bersecurity company BlueVoyant, according to the publication. With- out viewing cybersecurity as a pri- ority and allocating the necessary funding and resources, hackers will keep targeting hospitals. Here are six vulnerability points hackers typically exploit hospitals with, according to the Journal: 1. Networks. Without secure ac- cess control, hackers can infiltrate the network at one point and then move freely once inside. 2. Internet of Things. Connected medical devices do not always have built-in security features. 3. Personal devices. The hospital network becomes more vulnera- ble to cyberattacks when clinicians connect personal devices. 4. Data storage. Ransomware at- tackers can do more damage when EHRs, payment and insurance infor- mation are stored in one place. 5. Records disposal. Improperly disposing sensitive information can lead to privacy breaches. 6. Remote work. Remote COVID- 19 testing and vaccination sites as well as more nonclinical staff working from home increases security risk. n 39% of providers say telehealth has increased administrative burden By Katie Adams S ome healthcare providers report- ed noticeable changes in patient no- shows, appointment lengths and ad- ministrative burden resulting from their telehealth usage, according to survey re- sults released Jan. 25 by healthcare soware company CoverMyMeds. CoverMyMeds surveyed patients, providers and pharmacists during September and Octo- ber. One thousand patients, 400 providers and 328 pharmacists participated in the survey. Seven key findings on healthcare providers' experiences with telehealth appointments: 1. Nineteen percent of providers said tele- health usage decreased meaningful conver- sations with their patients. Fourteen percent said meaningful conversations increased, and 67 percent reported no change. 2. irty-two percent of providers said tele- health usage decreased the rate of patient no-shows. Sixteen percent said no-show rates increased, and 52 percent reported no change. 3. Twenty-six percent of providers said tele- health usage decreased appointment lengths. Fieen percent said appointment lengths in- creased, and 58 percent reported no change. 4. Twelve percent of providers said telehealth usage decreased their understanding of patient needs. Ten percent said their understanding increased, and 78 percent reported no change. 5. Eight percent of providers said telehealth usage decreased their administrative bur- den. irty-nine percent said their admin- istrative burden increased, and 53 percent reported no change. 6. Fieen percent of providers said telehealth usage decreased patients' adherence to their treatment and medications plans. Nine per- cent said adherence increased, and 76 percent reported no change. 7. Twenty-three percent of providers said tele- health usage decreased their number of ap- pointments per day. Twenty percent said the number increased, and 56 percent reported no change. n 11% of hospitals plan to change EHR vendor by 2022: ONC data By Jackie Drees S several hospitals and health systems are looking to optimize their EHR func- tionalities and pilot new tools by 2022, according to a ONC data brief published this January. For the data brief, ONC officials analyzed data from the IT supplement to the American Hos- pital Association's annual survey, which was administered to hospital IT execs from January 2020 through June 2020. Here's what survey respondents said when asked what changes their hospitals would make to their EHRs in the next several months. • Major change in vendor: 11 percent • Optimizing functionality of new releases: 68 percent • Significant additional functionalities: 34 percent. n

• Cover