The Growing Threat of Cyberattacks in Healthcare

The data universe is growing at unprecedented speed, with an estimated 2.5 quintillion bytes created, captured, and shared every day. Experts predict this number to increase by more than 180 zettabytes by the end of 2025. While digital information enables the healthcare industry to transform healthcare delivery, it also puts patient records at risk. Cyberattacks in healthcare are becoming increasingly persistent and complex as data thieves fully understand the value of information sold on the open market or held hostage in a ransomware attack. At current rates, damage resulting from cyberattacks will cost $10.5 trillion annually. 

 

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Cyberattacks in Healthcare

Nowhere has digitized information had a more significant impact than in the healthcare industry. Electronic data improves the speed and quality of patient care by giving clinicians easy access to patient medical history, diagnosis, medications, treatment plans, and test results. Perhaps that’s why 30 percent of the world’s data volume is being generated in healthcare – a number that will reach a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36 percent by 2025. 

But with immense value also comes significant risk. Cybercriminals are constantly looking for new ways to steal data and place it up for sale. The inability to access healthcare data during downtime often proves costly, with 90 percent of healthcare organizations exposed to ransomware experiencing outages. This proves costly, with the industry expected to lose $8,000 per minute during these outages. 

With the volume of electronic healthcare information only expected to grow, how can the industry reconcile risk vs. reward?  

The Way Forward – Clinical Communication and Collaboration 

While standard EHR chat tools often come with “secure messaging” functionality, these systems are also limited in their ability to tie all facilities, departments, and people together. In today’s environment, patient care is often considered more efficient and ultimately more effective by engaging in a team approach – including everyone from primary care physicians to specialists and surgeons. The ability to share ideas, leverage a broader range of experiences, and build joint care plans via advanced clinical communication and collaboration (CC&C) platforms serves patients better and changes how providers document and share information.  

Integrating your CC&C platform and EHR allows patients and teams to interact, collaborate, and share via a single platform. Real-time data can be communicated securely and effectively to speed care decisions and improve patient outcomes. Clinical communication and collaboration systems are the answer to more effective communication, streamlined planning and treatment, and keeping critical electronic information secure. Unlike typical SMS text messages, CC&C platforms are fully HIPAA-compliant and resistant to hacking attempts.  

Prevent Cyberattacks in Healthcare with a Secure, Encrypted Solution 

The TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform is a HIPAA-compliant, secure, and encrypted solution designed specifically for healthcare professionals. The platform can be accessed on mobile devices and desktops, making it easy to use in virtually every clinical workflow. Messages and attachments are encrypted to ensure that secure data cannot be accessed if a device is lost, stolen, or hacked.  

Additionally, TigerConnect messages auto-delete after a set period, and devices can be remotely wiped, further protecting patient data from cybercriminals. Because the TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform is HITRUST-certified,  it combines all aspects from common security frameworks like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Payment Card Industry (PCI), and HIPAA.  

Although the TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform integrates with EHRs, it sits outside of the EHR and is not impacted if ransomware causes unplanned EHR downtime. This enables care teams to continue to communicate and collaborate on patient care. TigerConnect is one of the few CC&C vendors that can report 99.99 percent uptime, making the platform a bridge to keep information available and reliable.  

Solutions like TigerConnect can be the foundation for safe, dependable, and effective clinical communication and collaboration when used with advanced security strategies, assessments, and training. Read the eBook, 6 Must-Ask Questions When Evaluating Clinical Communication Solutions, to learn what questions CIOs need to ask when considering a secure and reliable CC&C platform.