John Riggi, the national adviser for cybersecurity and risk for the American Hospital Association, said foreign hacking groups in countries such as Russia, China and North Korea are making the association "very concerned," NPR reported July 26.
Currently, the 2023 data breaches, reported to the HHS' Office for Civil Rights, are closing in on 2022's total of more than 52 million, as healthcare organizations have disclosed more than 330 breaches affecting 43 million people in 2023.
With the rise in data breaches in the industry, Mr. Riggi told NPR that personal information stored in patients' medical records is lucrative to criminals, as they can use it to make money, use it to submit fraudulent claims to Medicaid and Medicare, or use it to create fake identities.
"They flee with the money, and the individual is left to deal with it," Mr. Riggi said.
He recommends healthcare adopt tools similar to the financial industry, such as exploring algorithms that can flag unusual activity in patients' insurance claims.