Healthcare Challenges in the Era of Cybersecurity

Abstract

As a result of the extensive integration of technology into the healthcare system, cybersecurity incidents have become an increasing challenge for the healthcare industry. Recent examples include WannaCry, a nontargeted ransomware attack on more than 150 countries worldwide that temporarily crippled parts of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, and the 2016 ransomware attack on Los Angeles's Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The attacks cost millions of dollars in lost revenue and fines, as well as significant reputational damage. Efforts are needed to devise tools that allow experts to more accurately quantify the actual impact of such events on both individual patients and healthcare systems as a whole. While the United States has robust disaster preparedness and response systems integrated throughout the healthcare and government sectors, the rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat against healthcare entities is outpacing existing countermeasures and challenges in the “all-hazards” disaster preparedness paradigm. Further epidemiologic research of clinical cybersecurity attacks and their effects on patient care and clinical outcomes is necessary to prevent and mitigate future attacks.