Literature Review

7 of the top tech and IT jobs in demand for the future TechTarget; by David Weldon; 6/24/24 Businesses of the future will rely on workers with IT skills even more than they do today. Find out which jobs might be most in demand and what those roles entail. ... Organizations are having to create new tech roles and redefine existing ones to manage the integration of AI and data into core business functions. Meanwhile, cybersecurity continues to be a top concern, as do digital transformation and cloud computing. These challenges are increasing the demand for job roles that merge technical expertise with strategic business acumen. ... So, what will be some of the hottest IT jobs of the future? ... Roles are listed in alphabetical order. 

Ransomware spikes after Change hack Becker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 6/13/24 Following Change Healthcare's admission that it paid off hackers after its ransomware attack, there has been a spike in healthcare-related cyber incidents, Wired reported June 12. In April, cybersecurity firm Recorded Future identified 44 instances of cybercriminal groups targeting healthcare organizations with ransomware attacks. These attacks involved stealing data, encrypting systems and demanding ransom payments while holding networks hostage. This marks the highest number of healthcare ransomware victims recorded in a single month during Recorded Future's four years of data collection, Allan Liska, a threat intelligence analyst at the company told Wired. 

5 things to know about the sorry state of healthcare cybersecurityMedCity News; by Katie Adams; 5/22/24Nitin Natarajan, deputy director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), shared some key ideas that people need to understand about the current state of cybersecurity in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare rethinks cybersecurity staffing as threats rise Modern Healthcare; by Gabriel Perna; 5/28/24... Health systems and insurers are dealing with the aftermath of the industry’s latest large-scale ransomware attacks, ... Conversations are happening over whether organizations should be bringing in outside consultants or hiring more employees, executives say. ... In 2023, a record 133 million individuals were potentially affected by healthcare data breaches, according to the Health and Human Services Department's Office for Civil Rights breach portal. ... One of the biggest challenges healthcare organizations face in dealing with these threats is hiring qualified talent, according to a survey of cybersecurity professionals within the industry the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society published in March.

HHS puts $50M toward hospitals' ransomware fightBecker's Health IT; by Molly Gamble; 5/20/24A new agency within the National Institutes of Health is launching a $50 million initiative to develop tools for hospital IT teams that enhance their cybersecurity measures and resources to combat ransomware. On May 20, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health introduced its Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense, or UPGRADE, program. "What if every hospital could autonomously protect itself and patients from cyber threats?" That is the guiding question for the initiative, which aims to develop a tailored and scalable software suite of remediations and patches for hospitals, reducing the patching time for vulnerable healthcare products to days or weeks.

Amazon seeks nonprofit healthcare, EHR expertise Becker's Helath IT; by Laura Dyrda; 5/13/24 Amazon is looking to hire leaders with experience in nonprofit healthcare and EHRs, according to recent job postings on the tech giant's website. Amazon Web Services has a listing for "Senior Solutions Architect, Healthcare, Nonprofit Health, Nonprofit Healthcare" seeking an individual with a passion for helping nonprofit healthcare providers implement cloud computing solutions. ... [Amazon] is also hiring for an account executive focused on nonprofit healthcare and global nonprofit healthcare. The company is searching for a "proven business executive in the NP healthcare sector to lead and continue to expand the business with some of our most important healthcare customers and develop new customers across a targeted greenfield market."

Ascension health care network disrupted by cyberattack, interrupting clinical operations CBS Chicago News; by Adam Harrington and Matthew Cramer; 5/9/24 The Ascension health care network announced Wednesday that its clinical operations have been disrupted by a cyberattack. In a news release, Ascension said it responded immediately, and access to some systems has been interrupted with remediation efforts in progress. "Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible," Ascension said in a news release. "There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption."

Wide-ranging health care bill gets final approval from CT House CT Mirror - Connecticut's Nonprofit Journalism; by Jenna Carlesso; 5/6/24The House gave final passage Monday to a wide-ranging health care bill that would add protections for home care workers, boost preparedness for cyberattacks at medical facilities and establish new regulations for the state’s health information exchange, among other reforms. ... The sections on additional protections for home care workers were prompted by the murder of visiting nurse Joyce Grayson, who was killed in October while working at a halfway house in Willimantic. ... The bill requires home health aide agencies to collect certain client information upon intake and make it available to any employee assigned to the client. Information includes a history of violence against health care workers, domestic abuse, substance use, psychiatric history, any listing on a sex offender registry, the crime rate of the municipality the person lives in, and whether there are any weapons or safety hazards in the home. [Click on the title's link for more important information about this bill's safety measures.]

CIOs' top 15 priorities over next 3 years Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 5/1/24 CIOs' top priority over the next one to three years will be driving business innovation, according to a recent CIO survey. That differs from their current No. 1 focus, which is cybersecurity, per an April CIO story. Here are the activities CIOs plan to spend more time on in the next one to three years, according to the 2024 survey of 1,126 IT leaders: ... [click on the title's link for the list]. 

AMA responds to UnitedHealth confirmation of stolen data from Change HealthcareAmerican Medical Association; 4/24/24The American Medical Association (AMA) is deeply concerned about the April 22 announcement from UnitedHealth Group (UHG) indicating vast amounts of sensitive medical data might have been stolen from Change Healthcare’s system and in the hands of malicious ransomware groups. “The AMA appreciates UHG’s statement outlining efforts to contain damage and provide support for people who are concerned about their personal data,” said AMA President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, M.D., M.P.H. “The AMA urges UHG to quickly operationalize and fulfill its promises to help patients and physicians affected by the breach.”

Kaiser notifies 13 million patients of breachBecker's Health IT; by Naomi Diaz; 4/25/24Oakland, CA-based Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is notifying current and former patients that it shared information with third-party advertisers. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan reported to the HHS' data breach portal that 13.4 million current and former patients were affcted by the breach. The cause of the breach, according to an April 25 report from TechCruch, was the use of online technologies on its websites and mobile applications that "may have transmitted personal information to third-party vendors."

Change cyberattack affected 'substantial proportion' of America Modern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 4/23/24UnitedHealth Group said the cyberattack against its Change Healthcare unit potentially exposed the personal information of  "a substantial proportion of people in America," and it will be months before it is able to identify and notify patients affected. The company also confirmed it paid an unspecified ransom to protect patient data, as reported by Bloomberg Monday.

Healthcare still underprepared for scope of cyber threats, says Kroll reportHealthcare IT News, by Andrea Fox; 4/17/24Healthcare is the industry that's most likely to self-assess as having "very mature security," according to a new cyber readiness report from Kroll. But it's also one of the most-breached sectors – topping the list in 2022 and coming in second this past year. That discrepancy can be traced to many factors – not least the fact that healthcare organizations have long been among the top targets of cybercriminals and bad actors.