Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT / Healthcare data breaches down in '24, Healthcare data company unable to find buyer + more

Transcript

Healthcare data breaches down in '24, Healthcare data company unable to find buyer + more · Becker’s Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT

• 0:00
  This is Naomi Diaz with the Becker's Digital
• 0:02
  Health Podcast. Here's your daily industry news briefing
• 0:04
  for today, February 3rd.
• 0:07
  First,
• 0:08
  Veradigm, a health care data and technology provider,
• 0:11
  formerly known as Allscripts,
• 0:13
  has concluded its month long strategic review without
• 0:15
  securing a sale or major transaction, the company
• 0:18
  said January 30th.
• 0:20
  Despite engaging with more than 30 potential buyers
• 0:23
  and receiving 5 nonbinding offers, the company did
• 0:26
  not receive any final proposals and has decided
• 0:29
  to move forward independently
• 0:31
  according to a press release from the company.
• 0:33
  The review, which began in May 2024,
• 0:36
  explored various options to maximize shareholder value, including
• 0:40
  a potential acquisition.
• 0:42
  Veradigm's board of directors, alongside financial and legal
• 0:45
  advisers,
• 0:46
  evaluated bids from strategic partners and financial sponsors,
• 0:50
  but ultimately determined that continuing as an independent
• 0:53
  entity was the best path forward.
• 0:56
  2nd,
• 0:57
  the total number of large health care data
• 0:59
  breaches was down slightly in 2024,
• 1:02
  according to HHS data reported by HIPAA Journal.
• 1:06
  Health care organizations
• 1:08
  reported 725
• 1:09
  data breaches affecting 500 or more people to
• 1:12
  HHS's
• 1:13
  office of civil rights last year compared to
• 1:17
  747 in 2023
• 1:18
  per the per the January 30th story.
• 1:21
  However, the total number of individuals affected by
• 1:24
  health care data breaches was way up in
• 1:26
  2024,
• 1:27
  driven by the industry's largest ever hack, the
• 1:29
  February ransomware attack on change change health care
• 1:31
  that compromised the information of an estimated a
• 1:34
  190,000,000
• 1:35
  people.
• 1:36
  And the HHS data could change as data
• 1:38
  breach reporting is often delayed.
• 1:41
  Here are the number of health care data
• 1:42
  breaches affecting 500 or more individuals over the
• 1:45
  past 5 years.
• 1:46
  2024,
• 1:47
  725,
• 1:48
  2023,
• 1:49
  747,
• 1:50
  2022,
• 1:51
  720,
• 1:52
  20 21, 715,
• 1:54
  and 2020 at 663.
• 1:58
  3rd,
• 1:59
  Dallas based Stewart Healthcare is at the center
• 2:01
  of a growing dispute with its former Massachusetts
• 2:03
  hospitals that's as it demands higher fees for
• 2:05
  critical EHR and billing services, the Boston Globe
• 2:09
  reported January 31st.
• 2:11
  The conflict arises as Boston Medical Center, Lawrence
• 2:14
  General Hospital, Brown University, new owners of 6
• 2:17
  hospitals previously operated by Steward, scrambled to maintain
• 2:20
  maintain essential EHR and technology services.
• 2:24
  These services cover patient information for radiology,
• 2:27
  laboratory, pathology, microbiology,
• 2:29
  and pharmacy operations.
• 2:32
  In response to Steward's demands, the hospitals have
• 2:34
  filed motions in Baker's Seat Court urging Steward
• 2:36
  to uphold existing contracts.
• 2:39
  The hospital stated an illegal joint filing, quote,
• 2:41
  if Steward were to cut off services, patient
• 2:43
  lives will be at risk, end quote.
• 2:46
  The organizations
• 2:47
  emphasize that emphasize that safe and effective operations
• 2:50
  depend on the continuity of EHR and revenue
• 2:52
  cycle management, both of which would be severely
• 2:55
  impacted if services were discontinued.
• 2:58
  Despite the increase in financial burden, Stewart has
• 3:00
  not provided a clear justification for the higher
• 3:02
  fees in court documents
• 3:04
  and declined to comment to the publication.
• 3:06
  The hospitals maintained that they are being charged
• 3:08
  more for the same level of service with
• 3:10
  invoices revealing substantial hikes in monthly payments.
• 3:13
  For instance, Boston Medical's fees rose by 1,500,000,
• 3:17
  Brown University
• 3:18
  Health by 1,100,000,
• 3:20
  and Lawrence General's by nearly 500,000,
• 3:23
  each representing more than a 30% increase.
• 3:26
  State officials have been briefed on the dispute,
• 3:28
  but have no plans to provide additional financial
• 3:30
  assistance to Steward.
• 3:31
  Massachusetts secretary of health and human services, Kate
• 3:34
  Wells, criticized the company's actions stating, quote, Stuart
• 3:37
  has been a very bad actor for a
• 3:38
  very long time, and this is the latest
• 3:40
  move by them to try to get more
• 3:41
  money from their failed operations in Massachusetts,
• 3:44
  unquote.
• 3:45
  Hospital leaders remain hopeful that the court will
• 3:47
  intervene.
• 3:48
  John Fernandez, CEO of Brown University Health, called
• 3:50
  Stewart's actions, quote, unbelievable,
• 3:53
  unconscionable,
• 3:54
  and ridiculous, end quote, but reassure the public
• 3:56
  that patient care remains top priority.
• 3:59
  Meanwhile, Stewart's leadership has undergone a recent stake
• 4:01
  up with CEO Mark Rich stepping down and
• 4:04
  John Castellano of consulting firm AlixPartners
• 4:06
  assuming the role of chief restructuring officer.
• 4:09
  The company no longer operates any hospitals in
• 4:11
  Massachusetts, yet its financial struggles to continue to
• 4:14
  have ripple effects on the institutions
• 4:16
  it previously owned.
• 4:19
  If you would like the latest health IT
• 4:21
  and digital health industry news delivered to your
• 4:22
  inbox every morning, subscribe to the Becker's CIO
• 4:25
  and health IT review enewsletter through our website
• 4:27
  at ww.beccarshospitalreview.com.