Poll: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Upgrades Are the Most Urgent Needs for Health Care Companies

Which area of your healthcare IT stack is most overdue for a modern refresh? It’s a question you may be asking yourself right now, if your company is in the healthcare industry. We asked attendees of a recent event that same question, and their answers suggest two areas that need immediate attention.

The most popular response, at 35 percent, was “security and compliance tools.” This isn’t a surprise, as cyberattacks continue to increase at an alarming rate; the same thing is happening, some IT pros complain, with the ever-burgeoning rules and regulations being added by sovereign states. 

AI continues to be a big part of the security equation, as the black hats are using it more and more in their attacks, while the white hats are employing it to fend off (and oftentimes, recover from) those same attacks.

“Network and infrastructure” was a close second place in the voting, at nearly 30 percent. Of course, these answers have a lot of overlap, as the infrastructure is doing the work, while the security is protecting that infrastructure. 

One important stress point on this infrastructure is the so-called “Internet of Medical Things,” or IoMT. The growth of connected medical devices means more endpoints to secure and authenticate, putting an increasing strain on operations. 

The other areas needing refreshed technology according to survey-takers were “Electronic Health Records (EHR)” and “Billing and revenue cycle systems,” at 17 percent and 11 percent respectively. Thus, even though these are important considerations, it’s clear that operations and compliance are likely to get the lion’s share of upgrade money for many health care organizations in the near future.