Recently, a number of new and updated tools and projects have been launched by a variety of sources to help protect healthcare environments from cybercrime, and they couldn’t have come at a better time. According to one source, the number of security breaches appear to be slowing but the number of records impacted are increasing, indicating cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated. (Vogel, Susanna. Scale of healthcare cyberattacks increase as criminals change tactics, report finds. August 22, 2023. Healthcaredive.com.)

Sharing learnings from cybersecurity firm Critical Insight’s 2023 Healthcare Data Cyber Breach Report,  HealthCare Dive notes,  “This year, 40 million people have been impacted by healthcare data breaches…Cyber attackers are now targeting vulnerable points in the supply chain, specifically the business associates or third-party companies that offer services to healthcare organizations.”

Just as criminals are getting smarter, so are the many organizations protecting health care practices, businesses and institutions and their patients. In recent weeks:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched DIGIHEALS to protect healthcare’s electronic infrastructure. Proposals are being sought for proven technologies that can apply to health systems, care facilities, and health devices.
• An updated version of the Health Industry Cybersecurity Information Sharing Best Practices Guide (HIC-ISBP) – a compliment to the recently updated Matrix of Information Sharing Organizations – was released to help healthcare organizations create and maintain an information sharing program for cybersecurity threats. (McKeon, Jill. HSCC Releases Updated Guidance on Information Sharing Best Practices. August 24, 2023. com.)
• Beckers’ Hospital Review provided a list of over 100 healthcare security companies helping to protect from data loss, promote smooth operations, and safeguard patient information. (Falvey, Anna and Talian, Brendan. 121 Healthcare Cybersecurity Companies to Know. August 3, 2023. com.)

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 405(d) Program released new tools to help bolster healthcare cybersecurity, including Knowledge on Demand (free training to improve cybersecurity awareness); Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP) 2023 Edition (a publication outlining risks, best practices, and suggested standards); and Hospital Cyber Resiliency Initiative Landscape Analysis (a report on cybersecurity preparedness and hospital benchmarking).

In addition, the American Medical Association has created a “toolkit” of sorts, providing numerous resources for addressing cybercrime all in one place.

As your organization/practice determines its next steps for cybersecurity, you can count on RBT CPAs to handle your accounting, audit, tax, and advisory needs. We believe we succeed when we help our clients succeed. To learn more, give us a call.

RBT CPAs is proud to say all of our work is prepared in the U.S.A. – we never offshore. As a result, you get peace of mind that your operation’s financial and confidential information is handled by full-time, local staff who have met our high standards for quality, ethics, and professionalism.