Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cyberthieves Wooed By Huge Payoffs From Stolen Medical Records
The Boston Globe: Health Files Make For A Juicy Target For Thieves
Today, according to cybersecurity specialists, criminals hoping to scoop up valuable personal data are increasingly targeting health care companies — from local doctor’s offices to major health insurers. More than 100 million health care records were compromised in 2015 alone. Federal records show that almost all of those losses came from just three attacks on health insurance providers: Anthem Inc., Premera Blue Cross, and Excellus Health Plan Inc. At the same time, data breaches in the retail industry are plummeting. Last year marked a four-year low for reported breaches of records of retailers, with just 5.7 million compromised, according to research from IBM Security. (Woodward, 8/7)
In other health technology news —
Bloomberg: Technology Startups Target In-Home Care Market For Elderly
Decades of medical breakthroughs have improved the quality and length of life, but technology has done little to help people... care for older relatives. Several startups aim to ease the burden of these families by using technology to automate caregiver-family matches, post customer feedback, create schedules and make payments more convenient. (Chapman, 8/5)
