American Hospital Association (AHA) warns U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) new cyber resilience strategy for medical sector may adversely impact hospitals following cyberattacks. The strategy includes new cybersecurity requirements for hospitals and financial measures for non-compliance, despite AHA's billion-dollar investments in cybersecurity. AHA asserts cyber defense should involve collaboration of federal government against sophisticated, often foreign, hackers and opposes mandatory cybersecurity rules for hospitals. HHS alongside Congress plans to increase civil monetary penalties for HIPAA violations.

AHA pushes back on HHS proposal to penalize hospitals for cyberattacks Healthcare IT News

Joel Klein discusses the concept of 'authority gradient' in aviation and its implications in healthcare. This refers to the expertise levels within a team, such as a flight crew or medical staff. An authority gradient could lead to experienced members discounting inputs from less experienced ones, which could be crucial in crisis situations. In healthcare, this could contribute to unfavorable situations. Aviation manages high authority gradients by open communication and affirming everyone's value in their roles. This method is less common in healthcare but could be beneficial.

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DICOM, the standard for sharing medical images, leaves millions of patient records exposed due to security flaws found by German cybersecurity consultancy, Aplite. Over 3,800 servers in 110 countries reveal private data of 16 million patients; 43 million health records also exposed. Majority servers are in the US; over 70% are hosted by Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure. Under 1% use effective security. Aplite also discovered a new attack vector, allowing data tampering in existing medical images. Implementation of DICOM's security measures could disrupt many legacy systems.

Millions of patient scans and health records spilling online thanks to decades-old protocol bug | TechCrunch TechCrunch

Healthcare and IT present challenges and opportunities; focus on people, process, technology. Current global issues impact local activities; workforce challenges emphasize people focus. Healthcare professionals need mercy, compassion, listening skills; should treat others kindly. For 2024, kindness and compassion are essential. Collaboration and attention to diversity, equality, inclusion (DEI) expand. IT security critical; evolve IT, embrace digital services, consider revenue enhancement/cost containment. Remain open to new partnerships, challenge status quo, cautiously engage AI, Machine Learning. Address health literacy, EHR issues; commit to life-work balance assessment. Create better 2024.

12 Steps to Prepare for 2024 – Big Challenges – Bigger Opportunities StarBridge Advisors