Health IT tops the list of crisis management concerns, according to an annual Black Book Market Research report of public relations considerations in the healthcare industry.
A total of 1,895 executive officers were surveyed from 334 hospitals, 218 physician groups and ambulatory organizations and 107 payers. The No. 1 concern for potential crisis management was technology, system and data-related issues; this issue has continued to appear on the list for the past five years. Social media and associated issues, such as HIPAA compliance, which appear on the list for the first time, ranked No. 7.
In 2016, 88 percent of hospital "public relations nightmares" were caused by insiders, such as employees, managers or corporate staff. However, executives expect crises related to outsiders — such as hackers, criminals or vendors — to increase in 2017, encompassing issues like data breaches, thefts and infectious diseases.