Health-care industry is most at risk from cyberattack, study says

Health care is increasingly more at risk of cyberattacks than other industries, according to a recent study by Soax, a data-collection platform, reports Cara Smith of Inside Health Policy.

As cyberattacks against Change Healthcare and Ascension, a 19-state hospital system, "disrupted the health-care industry, lawmakers, doctors, payers and other stakeholders are scrambling to prevent future cyberbreaches to protect the health-care system," Smith reports.

"The health-care industry is the most vulnerable sector, topping the ranking with 809 data-violation cases in 2023. This is a staggering surge in incidents from the prior year, with cases totaling 343 in 2022 -- a 136% increase, the study found. Further data revealed that these cases affected 56 million victims."

For the study, Soax used data from the Identity Theft Resource Center, and it says "the health-care industry should be on high alert," Smith reports.

Artificial intelligence may have already been used to diagnose you

A doctor looks at an X-ray on a screen helped by artificial
intelligence. (Photo by Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images)

Kentucky Health News

As Congress and federal regulators begin to take steps to monitor and control the use of artificial intelligence, "The technology has already been put to use in unseen and unregulated ways in health care," Ben Leonard and Chelsea Cirruzzo report for Politico Pulse, drawing on a Politico story by Daniel Payne and Ruth Reader on how A.I. is affecting Americans. Here are some ways:

Medical imaging: A.I. is is commonly used in radiology, to help "decipher medical images like X-rays — and some systems work on par with humans, according to recent studies," Politico reports. "The algorithms also measure and improve radiologists' performance."

Cancer: The progression of a cancer can be hard to evaluate, and A.I. can help, especially with prostate cancer, in which "tumors grow in multiple locations and extend in ways that might not get picked up on imaging," Politico reports.

Recordkeeping: "A.I. systems help doctors make better sense of their notes. Many health-tech companies target 'low-risk, high-reward projects' that can summarize information and act more like a secretary than a co-pilot.

Billing and coverage: "Firms are toying with technology that can change how bills are generated and processed. . . . A.I. can scrutinize bills more quickly than humans, leading to potential labor and time savings." Advocates say it will make claims move faster, "but skeptics worry AI could reduce transparency and accountability in decision-making" by health-care providers and insurers."

The Food and Drug Administration "has taken an experimental approach to regulating A.I. in medical devices, mostly issuing strategic plans and policy guidance," Politico reports. "The biggest challenge is that A.I. evolves over time, and companies don’t want to re-apply for FDA clearance to market their technology." The Department for Health and Human Services finalized a rule in December that would require more transparency about A.I. in clinical settings.