The COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption caused by ransomware attacks have both decreased the quality of health care, a recent report revealed.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) report titled "'Provide Medical Care' is in Critical Condition: Analysis and Stakeholder Decision Support to Minimize Further Harm” evaluated the status of hospitals and health systems.
"We do regular routine analysis of risk to the nation's critical infrastructure and national critical functions throughout the pandemic," Chief Strategist for CISA Josh Corman told Healthcare IT News, noting that the assessment is both qualitative and quantitative. "This analysis is done for government stakeholders and decision-support within CISA, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and across agencies like HHS (Health and Human Services) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
The nationwide medical care infrastructure has been heavily strained by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The strains on the care delivery system -- and the excess deaths they cause -- can have severe upstream effects on broader infrastructure, workforce and, potentially, national security," Healthcare IT News reported.
While there is only one known death directly attributed to a cyberattack, statistical analysis of the relative performance of hospitals and health care facilities indicates reduced capacity, according to CISA’s report.
