Literature Review

Cybersecurity contracts at risk as HHS cuts 150 IT workers: Report Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 4/15/25 The Department of Health and Human Services could face a critical breakdown in its IT and cybersecurity systems after a sweeping reduction in force that eliminated key staff and leadership, Wired reported April 14, citing four current and former agency employees. More than 150 workers in HHS’ Office of the Chief Information Officer were among hundreds of administrative staff laid off April 1, according to the report. These employees were responsible for contract renewals and cybersecurity licenses and oversaw operations at the department’s Computer Security Incident Response Center — the hub for detecting and responding to cyberthreats across the department. Sources told Wired the cuts left no one in place to renew critical cybersecurity contracts, some of which are set to expire as soon as June.

Healthcare data breaches average $11M per incident: Report Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 3/28/25 Cyberattacks have hit 78% of U.S. healthcare organizations, with the average cost of a breach soaring to $11 million per incident — largely due to ransomware attacks — according to a March 28 report from Black Book Market Research. Black Book Market Research, a technology survey organization, released findings from its first-quarter 2025 Global Healthcare Cybersecurity Survey, which gathered responses from more than 1,200 healthcare administrators worldwide. Participants were sourced through LinkedIn professional groups. The study revealed a sharp rise in cybersecurity threats targeting EHRs and patient data. [Continue reading ...] 

Bill Gates AI jobs: 3 roles that will surviveArchynewsy; 3/30/25...  Despite the potential for widespread automation, Gates identifies three key areas where human expertise will remain indispensable: creative work, those requiring high levels of emotional intelligence, and skilled trades. These professions share a common thread – they rely on uniquely human capabilities that AI currently struggles to replicate. ... Gates predicts substantial changes in sectors like healthcare and education, with AI potentially handling many diagnostic and instructional duties currently fulfilled by doctors and teachers. ... [Continue reading ...]

Digital Transformation 101: A handy primerHealthcare IT News; by Bill Siwicki; 3/21/25 Robert Slepin, chief digital officer at SE Health and an emeritus CIO adviser at Epic, describes the key aspects of digital transformation that provider organizations need to understand, primary technologies involved and how to best organize the effort. Healthcare IT News sat down with him to discuss aspects of digital transformation efforts that provider organizations don't quite have a firm grasp on to begin with, the primary technologies involved in digital transformation, how to organize such a comprehensive effort as digital transformation, and his transformation effort at SE Health. [Continue reading ...]

UnitedHealth Group's year of DOJ probes, layoffs and backlash Modern Healthcare; by Lauren Berryman; 2/24/25 UnitedHealth Group has faced an unprecedented past year, navigating events that have tested its finances, operations and reputation. Here is a timeline of key events during the company’s past 12 months. [Click here and scroll down to the timeline with links to Modern Healthcare's articles through the year.]

Ascension recoups $1B in advance payments Becker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 2/19/25 St. Louis-based Ascension has recouped about $1 billion in advance payments from Medicare and certain commercial payers related to disruptions from the May ransomware attack that affected the health system as well as the February 2024 Change Healthcare cyberattack. "The advance payments helped to mitigate the unfavorable cash flow impacts associated with the aforementioned cyber incidents as revenue cycle processes continue to ramp towards recovery," the health system said in financial documents published Feb. 17. "In accordance with the terms and conditions of the programs, recoupments began in FY24 with all payments being fully recouped at Dec. 31, 2024." 

New tech, new problems: Why application development needs a big-picture view Software Development Times (SD Times); by Sharul Sangl; 2/19/25... [Many] organizations have approached [technology] innovation without a comprehensive strategy or holistic view of their applications, simply focusing on adding the latest features or trendy tools. As a result, they are facing challenges related to application performance, scalability, efficiency, and security. To ensure the success of application innovation, enterprises must maintain a big-picture view of their applications.  ... When approached strategically, organizations are in a prime position to capitalize on current technologies to truly innovate. ...

Tech resilience for healthcare providers: Inaction has a heavy toll McKinsey & Company; by Brian Shimabukuro and Sriram Sekar with Angela Botner and Rut Patel; 2/18/25 Cyberattacks and tech outages at provider organizations have reached an all-time high. To stem the tide, providers need strong plans to prevent, detect, and recover from attacks and disruptions. The outages that result from these attacks can have severe, long-lasting effects on health systems and patients. Globally, healthcare provider organizations incur the highest cost for data breaches of any industry, averaging $9.8 million per incident ... Tech resilience encompasses capabilities to monitor, prevent, detect, and recover from disruptions. ... [Click on the title's link for detailed challenges and strategies.]

70K nursing home patients have personal data stolen in breachMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 1/29/25Several skilled nursing facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania have sent letters to thousands of patients informing them of a data breach that gained access to their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive information. Approximately 70,000 HCF Management patients from facilities across the chain’s network of SNF’s had their data obtained by RansomHub, a ransomware organization.Publisher's note: Pairing this story with "Ransomware attack prompts Maryland hospital to take systems offline" article. It's likely a matter of "when not if" this happens in hospice. How are you preparing for it?

The tech shaping healthcare in 2025, per 61 leaders Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 1/28/25 Healthcare leaders told Becker's that emerging technologies such as ambient listening, AI-driven automation, and advanced remote patient monitoring are set to transform healthcare in 2025 by tackling workforce shortages and boosting operational efficiency. 

Change breach hit more than half of Americans, UnitedHealth says Modern Healthcare; by Lauren Berryman; 1/24/25 A ransomware attack against Change Healthcare last year exposed data on a record-breaking 190 million people, parent company UnitedHealth Group reported Friday. That's 90 million more people than the company, which operates Change Healthcare through its Optum subsidiary, disclosed to federal regulators in October. It also amounts to 55% of the U.S. population. A cyberattack against Anthem (now Elevance Health) in 2015, which affected nearly 80 million people, was the previous record holder in the healthcare sector.

Healthcare Industry Team 2024 Year in Review JD Supra; by Claire Bass, S. Derek Bauer, Kevin Bradberry, Ernessa Brawley, Sarah Browning, Charlotte Combre, Payal Cramer, Emily Crosby, Vimala Devassy, Shareef Farag, Amy Fouts, Winston Kirton, Caroline Landt, Charlene McGinty, Justin Murphy, Lynn Sessions, Gregory Tanner; 1/22/25As we begin a year that will once again be transformative for the industry, we are excited to present our comprehensive 2024 year-in-review, highlighting all that has happened and the trends that will shape 2025. [Downloadable PDF from BakerHostetler, bakerlaw.com. Large categories include the following:]