Cybersecurity Is Patient Safety: CHIME Submits Comments On Sen. Warner’s Cybersecurity Policy Paper
WASHINGTON, DC, December 2, 2022 – Yesterday, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security (AEHIS) provided comments on Senator Mark Warner’s (D-VA) policy options paper, titled “Cybersecurity is Patient Safety.”
CHIME and AEHIS applaud Senator Warner’s leadership and long-standing commitment to highlighting and improving the patient safety and national security risks posed to the healthcare sector by cyberattacks.
“CHIME and AEHIS members are encouraged by the much-needed Congressional focus on cybersecurity in the healthcare sector. Our members are dedicated to cybersecurity best practices, but providers have long needed additional, federal support to defend themselves from the increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks,” said CHIME President and CEO, Russ Branzell. “We know all too well that our sector is under siege with a war being waged by cyber criminals, deploying cyber-attacks that escalate in gravity with each passing year.”
Additionally, the healthcare sector is only as strong as its weakest link – and smaller organizations are not sufficiently resourced to fend off cyberattacks. CHIME and AEHIS are encouraging Congress to create and prioritize cybersecurity programs designated to aid small and under-resourced providers. This will allow them to protect themselves against, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity threats and cyberattacks – and in turn, protect their patients. Federal programs can truly be successful by providing monetary aid, additional training and resources, and technical assistance. These crucial resources will enable providers to implement recognized cybersecurity practices, replace legacy systems and devices, conduct security risk assessments, generate an action plan for mitigating identified risks, and hiring dedicated health information technology (IT) staff.
Congressional action can increase funding and federal coordination – and is the only way to ensure that we can improve the nation’s cybersecurity in the healthcare sector through all available avenues. Branzell stated that “cybersecurity in our sector continues to be underprioritized. We appreciate Senator Warner’s thorough and thoughtful policy options paper, and look forward to providing additional feedback to his office as thought leaders and subject matter experts in cybersecurity and healthcare.”
Download the Letter from CHIME and AEHIS to Sen. Warner.
For any questions on the letter, email [email protected].
About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs), chief innovation officers (CIOs), chief digital officers (CDOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 5,000 members in 56 countries plus two U.S. territories and over 150 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME and its three associations provide a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate, exchange best practices, address professional development needs and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
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Calli Dretke
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CHIME
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Mari Savickis
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CHIME
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