Information technology has revolutionized how American consumers receive health care. The ability of medical professionals to access accurate information about a patient enables them to act quickly and avoid potentially deadly medical errors. An emergency room doctor can now get real-time information from an ambulance about an incoming patient. A nurse can access records on a tablet to ensure a patient is not being prescribed medications she’s allergic to. A staffer in the reception area can more accurately and efficiently register patients, reducing billing errors.
Unfortunately, the data that powers all of these innovations is inherently vulnerable to misuse. Recent cyberattacks against MedStar Health in the Washington, DC area, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Methodist Hospital in Kentucky all show just how easily access to patient information can be cut off by someone with malicious intent, with potentially deadly results.
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