Ukraine Tension Prompts Warnings Of Cyberattacks Against US Hospitals
The alerts came from federal officials, covering other sectors as well as health care — but the strain of the pandemic may mean hospitals are particularly vulnerable. Separately, Stat reports that health tech companies are joining a call for nationwide patient data privacy standards.
Axios:
Hospitals On High Alert For Cyberattacks
Federal officials issued alerts this week about the increased potential for cyber attacks against critical U.S. infrastructure targets as tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine — and that includes health care. But as health care continues to grapple with the strain of the pandemic, it could be particularly vulnerable to attacks, experts say. "Even before this escalation with Ukraine, I was seeing threat actors take advantage of COVID for ransomware attacks because hospitals were short-staffed, everyone was stressed, the hospitals' census population is super high," Heather Hughes, director of client engagement and solutions at cyber insurer Resilience, told Axios. (Reed, 2/18)
In other health care industry updates —
Stat:
As States Push Privacy Laws, Health Tech Startups Fear Compliance Chaos
Health tech companies worried that an emerging patchwork of state privacy laws will drive up regulatory costs are joining privacy hardliners in the call for one nationwide standard to govern how they handle patient data. Massachusetts legislators advanced a data privacy bill earlier this month, and if it passes, the state will join Virginia, Colorado, and California at the leading edge of enacting their own consumer privacy laws. These — and many measures being discussed in state legislatures around the country — are designed to grant consumers control over the sharing, storage and sale of their data, including the growing ecosystem of health apps that don’t fall under the federal patient privacy law HIPAA. (Ravindranath, 2/18)
The Boston Globe:
R.I. Attorney General Denies Lifespan-Care New England Health Care Merger
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha on Thursday rejected the proposed merger of Lifespan and Care New England, saying it would hurt consumers by creating a health care giant with a stranglehold on the local market. “If this extraordinary and unprecedented level of control and consolidation were allowed to go forward, nearly all Rhode Islanders would see their healthcare costs go up, for health care that is lower in quality and harder to access, and Rhode Island’s healthcare workers would be harmed,” Neronha wrote in a 150-page decision denying the companies’ merger application. (Gagosz, 2/17)
Modern Healthcare:
Cerner Pilots Program For Quicker Disability Claims Process
Cerner has entered an agreement with the U.S. Social Security Administration to help simplify its processing of patient disability benefits claims through the retrieval of medical information from health systems' electronic health records. Together, the organizations will attempt to shorten the transfer time of relevant, patient-directed medical records being sent from health systems to the Social Security Administration, potentially cutting down the process from weeks or months to seconds or minutes, Cerner announced on Tuesday. (Devereaux, 2/17)
And more about health care workers —
AP:
Home Care Workers Block Hartford Street, Demand Better Wages
Unionized home care workers and their supporters blocked a major Hartford intersection near the state Capitol on Thursday, demanding Gov. Ned Lamont allocate more funding in his proposed state budget for better wages and basic benefits, including health insurance and paid sick days. Lt. Aaron Boisvert, a spokesperson for the Hartford Police, said 20 people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. A news release issued by the union SEIU District 1199NE said 21 people were arrested during the protest, which shut down the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Trinity, Washington and Lafayette streets. (2/18)
Axios:
AMN Healthcare's Travel Nurse Division Cashes In On Pandemic's Staff Shortages
AMN Healthcare, one of the largest health care staffing firms, reported record travel nurse revenue and profits last year, especially in the fourth quarter. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus battered hospital staffs, especially among nurses, and pushed hospitals to pay up for whatever help they could get — and those same forces benefited companies who place traveling nurses. (Herman, 2/18)
The Boston Globe:
Brigham Reaffirms Antiracism Work After Neo-Nazi Demonstration
Steps from where white supremacists held a banner last month protesting the hospital’s antiracism work, several dozen employees at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Thursday held up a banner of their own, this one broadcasting the staff’s unity against racism. The event was coordinated by Brigham and Women’s communications staff after employees voiced a desire to come together. In January, two dozen people affiliated with a neo-Nazi group held up a sign that read “B&W Hospital Kills Whites,” protesting the hospital’s work to reduce inequities in medicine. Staff standing behind the hospital’s “United Against Racism” banner presented a counterimage. (Bartlett, 2/17)
The Denver Post:
Plastic Surgeon Arrested In Connection To Death Of Teen Patient Who Died During Breast Augmentation Surgery
A Greenwood Village, Colorado plastic surgeon has been arrested in connection to the death of an 18-year-old patient. Dr. Geoffrey Kim, 52, turned himself into authorities on Wednesday accompanied by an attorney, according to an Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office news release. Kim is being investigated for the death of Emmalyn Nguyen. An arrest warrant had been issued for Kim on suspicion of two felonies, first-degree aggravated assault and criminally negligent homicide, according to the release. (Nicholson, 2/17)
