Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CrowdStrike Chief Rues Software Flaw That Shut Down Systems Worldwide
Reuters: CrowdStrike Exec Apologizes Before US Congress For Software Glitch Behind July Global Outage
A senior executive at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike apologized at an appearance before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Tuesday for a faulty software update that caused a global IT outage in July. The July 19 incident led to worldwide flight cancellations and impacted industries around the globe including banks, health care, media companies and hotel chains. (Shepardson, 9/24)
The HIPAA Journal: Healthcare Data Breach Statistics
The HIPAA Journal has compiled healthcare data breach statistics from October 2009, when the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) first started publishing summaries of healthcare data breaches on its website. (Alder, 9/24)
Modern Healthcare: 77% Of IT Healthcare Employees Want New Jobs: Survey
Health systems’ information technology employees are feeling the effects of industry volatility and unsatisfied with their prospects for advancement, according to a recent survey. Bloomforce, a company providing staffing support and recruiting services to healthcare providers, surveyed nearly 300 IT professionals regarding the state of their careers. The respondents — most of whom worked at large health systems — ranged in experience from entry-level application analysts to managers. (Perna, 9/24)
In other health care industry news —
Indianapolis Star: IU School Of Medicine Saw A Decline In Diversity As DEI Faces Attack
Indiana University School of Medicine has seen a significant decline in diversity among its newest medical students, which a school administrator attributed to the U.S. Supreme Court decision last spring that barred schools from considering diversity in admissions. In 2023, nearly a quarter of the incoming medical school students were people who are underrepresented in medicine, such as Black and Hispanic students. In 2024, that percentage plummeted to just 8.8%, according to data presented earlier this month at the IU Board of Trustees meeting. (Huang, 9/24)
Modern Healthcare: How The Federal Rate Cut Could Affect Healthcare Investments
The Federal Reserve's decision to slash its benchmark interest rate could stoke more capital spending among hospitals and health systems, but some providers are waiting to see what happens next before taking action. The Fed cut the benchmark rate by 0.5 percentage points at its Sept. 18 meeting, marking the central bank's first rate cut since early 2020. The move cuts the federal funds rate, the interest rate banks charge each other for short-term borrowing, and influences consumer and business borrowing and investments. (Hudson, 9/24))
KFF Health News: In Chronic Pain, This Teenager ‘Could Barely Do Anything.’ Insurer Wouldn’t Cover Surgery
When Preston Nafz was 12, he asked his dad for permission to play lacrosse. “First practice, he came back, he said, ‘Dad, I love it,’” recalled his father, Lothar Nafz, of Hoover, Alabama. “He lives for lacrosse.” But years of youth sports took a toll on Preston’s body. By the time the teenager limped off the field during a lacrosse tournament last year, the pain in his left hip had become so intense that he had trouble with simple activities, such as getting out of a car or turning over in bed. Months of physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs didn’t help. (Sausser, 9/25)
