The healthcare industry has been going through a difficult phase. While the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed health infrastructures across the globe, cyberattacks targeting the industry are skyrocketing. In 2020, healthcare was the worst affected industry by cybercrimes.¹

Experts suggest that this trend will continue into 2021 and beyond. This is a reminder for organizations to regularly upgrade their security and compliance posture during these times of uncertainty.

According to a report, cybercrime has shot up by over 300% since the start of the pandemic.² Here are a few significant attacks on the healthcare sector that have taken place since the onset of the pandemic:

1. UVM Health Network had to shut down its system due to a cyberattack in October 2020, with the system outage lasting over a month.³
2. In 2020, following an attack by Ryuk ransomware, Sky Lakes Medical Center based in Oregon had to purchase close to 2,000 new computers. The same attack vector also hit many other hospitals over a span of 24 hours.³
3. A May 2021 ransomware attack on a California-based healthcare provider, Scripps Health, caused close to four weeks of downtime, resulting in many appointments being rescheduled or recorded via paper documentation since the systems were unavailable.⁴

Protected Health Information (PHI) has everything a hacker needs to carry out sophisticated fraud such as identity theft. For the same reason, PHI is expensive on the dark web. The growing adoption of IoT technology, hybrid work environments and telemedicine have made accessing health records easy for hackers.

Compliance Challenges

Because of these advanced cyberthreats, healthcare organizations must prioritize meeting compliance and regulatory frameworks such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).

If your organization complies with the mandated regulations, you can avoid potential criminal charges, enhance operational safety, improve public relations, prevent attrition, and above all, ensure that liability insurance claims are paid out in the event of an incident.

Handling compliance matters is easier said than done and can be challenging for most organizations. Fortunately, managed Compliance as a Service can be the answer to your compliance concerns.

Managed Compliance as a Service

Managed Compliance as a Service is offered by managed service providers (MSPs) to help organizations like yours meet compliance requirements.

There are many key advantages to outsourcing your compliance requirements to a service provider. A few of those benefits include:

1.Reducing legal complications

When an expert MSP manages your compliance matters, regular follow-ups reduce your chances of experiencing compliance gaps, thus ensuring fewer legal complications.

2.Improving cybersecurity

Strictly adhering to regulatory standards ensures an additional layer of security against fraud, abuse of power and resource wastage.

3.Streamlining administrative processes

MSPs can offer you resources and tools to streamline administrative processes that can enhance security and compliance.

4.Minimizing the burden of assessment and documentation

Most organizations consider compliance assessment and documentation a burden because it requires significant time, effort and resources. Managed Compliance as a Service minimizes that burden.

5.Providing proof of compliance for liability insurance

You can use the accurate documentation and reporting of compliance efforts as proof while making liability insurance claims.

If you’re not sure where or how to begin your compliance journey, we’re here to help. Contact us today to get a PHI compliance assessment and start your journey toward shoring up healthcare compliance gaps in your organization.

Sources:

1. IBM Cost of Data Breach Report
2. FBI Report
3. Becker’s Hospital Review
4. Kpbs.org

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