Hospitals Lag in Cybersecurity Exercises

In comparison, 79 percent of hospitals named to the 2015 Health Care’s Most Wired list — those organizations that report achieving certain benchmarks in an annual information technology survey — hold those exercises annually. But when it comes to risk analyses to identify compliance gaps and vulnerabilities, the difference between all hospital survey respondents and those named Most Wired is less stark: 35 percent of all hospitals and 42 percent of Most Wired hospitals perform risk analyses every six months. Only 9 percent of all hospital respondents and 12 percent of Most Wired organizations conduct unannounced risk analyses.

The 2015 Most Wired Survey also revealed that the board includes cybersecurity in its risk management oversight in 70 percent of all organizations and in 83 percent of Most Wired hospitals. Additionally, 70 percent of all respondents and 79 percent of Most Wired hospitals have cybersecurity insurance.

The annual Most Wired Survey has been measuring progress in the implementation and use of health information technology for 17 years. This year, 741 hospitals and systems completed the survey, representing more than 2,213 hospitals, or more than 39 percent of all U.S. hospitals. For more, go to www.hhnmostwired.com.