Report on Improving Cybersecurity in the Healthcare Industry 2017

The Cybersecurity Act of 2015 provided a much needed opportunity to convene public and private sector subject matter experts to spend the last year discussing and developing recommendations on the growing challenge of cyber attacks targeting health care.

The Task Force’s discussions resulted in the development of six imperatives along with cascading recommendations and action items. All of these reflect the need for a unified effort – among public and private sector organizations of all sizes and across all sub-sectors – to work together to meet an urgent challenge. They also reflect a shared understanding that for the health care industry cybersecurity issues are, at their heart, patient safety issues. As health care becomes increasingly dependent on information technology, our ability to protect our systems will have an ever greater impact on the health of the patients we serve. While much of what we recommend will require hard work, difficult decisions, and commitment of resources, we will be encouraged and unified by our shared values as health care industry professionals and our commitment to  providing safe, high quality care.