Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experts Say Health Care Companies Are Tantalizing Targets For Cyberattackers
A cyberattack that paralyzed the hospital chain MedStar this week is serving as a fresh reminder of vulnerabilities that exist in systems that protect sensitive patient information. That attack came a month after a Los Angeles hospital paid hackers $17,000 to regain control of its computer system and more than a year after intruders broke into a database containing the records of nearly 80 million people maintained by the health insurer Anthem. (Murphy, 3/30)
Hospitals throughout MedStar Health’s network continued to face problems with their online systems Wednesday, two days after a cyberattack crippled the health-care giant’s email and patient records databases. “Our electronic medical records system is working,” spokeswoman Ann Nickels said. “Individual work stations may not be working.” MedStar also issued a statement Wednesday saying that “the three main clinical information systems supporting patient care are moving to full restoration, and enhanced functionality continues to be added to other systems.” (Cox, 3/30)
It's been more than a year since health insurer Anthem disclosed what was by far the largest data breach in healthcare history, yet almost nothing new is known about the causes, costs and ramifications. The cyberattack—in which hackers stole the names, birthdays, Social Security numbers, home addresses and other personal information of 78.8 million current and former members and employees—gave Anthem's reputation a black eye early on. The company and the industry at large scrambled to do damage control. Consumers questioned whether Anthem and other healthcare organizations could manage the volumes of data they had. But the breach essentially has been treated as a footnote since then. (Herman, 3/30)
