Some providers not taking cost of data breach seriously
Hospitals are adopting cyber liability policies in growing numbers, but other healthcare organizations are lagging behind, says Jay Sheehan, JD, senior vice president of Preferred Advantage in Hartford, CT, a division of national insurance provider Preferred Concepts.
He encourages risk managers to consider not only the protection needed for the hospital itself, but also for any imaging centers, physician practices, and similar groups associated with the hospital. Depending on the financial relationship, they might need stand-alone policies, and they're not likely to pursue them unless prompted by the risk manager, Sheehan says.
Leaders at these smaller centers can become complacent and think they have sufficient safeguards in place and don't need cyber liability coverage, he says. Sheehan recalls one incident in which he was talking about his company's cyber liability policies with a physician practice and was told it wasn't necessary because they secured their data well.
He asked what was in all the boxes stored in the conference room where the meeting was held and learned they were medical records. The rest were stored in an apartment that the practice rented nearby.
"If someone broke into the office, or even easier, the apartment building one night, they could get away with thousands of records in 15 minutes. They would have no idea whose records were missing and would have to notify everyone," Sheehan says. "That's when you realize how expensive a data breach can be."
Hospitals are adopting cyber liability policies in growing numbers, but other healthcare organizations are lagging behind, says Jay Sheehan, JD, senior vice president of Preferred Advantage in Hartford, CT, a division of national insurance provider Preferred Concepts.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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