As most of us in the healthcare IT sphere know, telehealth adoption has exploded thanks to COVID-19. In fact, according to a recent survey from our client Kyruus, 75% of patients had their first virtual visit in 2020 and Frost & Sullivan forecasts a sevenfold growth in telehealth usage by 2025.

At the start of the pandemic, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) eased some HIPAA security rules to aid with the rapid shift to virtual care, particularly specifically allowing health systems to use non-compliant remote communication technology such as Zoom, Skype or FaceTime without facing penalties. While the move sped up the adoption of telemedicine, it didn’t eliminate the security and privacy risks associated with them.

Why the Biggest Threat to Your Health Could Be Cybercrime

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. While companies across all industries ought to be concerned with protecting data, it is particularly important to do so in healthcare. For nearly ten years, Aria has served as the public relations agency of record for CynergisTek, a leader in cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance in healthcare. As a result, we’ve become particularly attuned to the various risks and threats that healthcare providers, health IT companies, and patients face every day. Here are a few reasons why healthcare organizations need to prioritize the privacy and security of the data they manage, this month and beyond: