On the 23rd of February, we were fortunate to see some of the top drivers of innovation healthcare speaking at Barberstown Castle. Here are our key takeaways from the cyber session.

Seven doors and shorter strategy cycles

Tony McKeown from Bon Secours spoke about the shorter strategic horizon required for the information and cyber function within hospitals. This is to enable flexibility for delivering on one strategy while also staying nimble enough to deal with threats. Tony likened these threats as seven doors as barriers to the cyber threat. Ideally, when facing potential hackers all seven doors should be closed though it is best to act as if some or all of these doors could be open. However, it should only take one door to keep the threat at bay, and empowering staff with knowledge and technology is critical in safeguarding data.  

Know your data

All the speakers were keen to bring it back to what this is all about – data. All speakers alluded to the challenges of limited resources and competing priorities. To maximise these limited resources, there was the concept of knowing your data. The cyber capabilities of a healthcare organisation are being tested all the time by bad actors and breaches will occur. Ahead of any such breach, Ronan Murphy of Smarttech247 said it is critical for organisations to understand what data they are holding, where they are holding it and who has access to it. Once files can be duplicated and stored elsewhere from their intended origin, this creates greater risk.  

Don’t let cyber risk stop innovation

Mike McCann of the Blackrock Health group approached the issue of cyber security from a different angle. Obviously, cybercrime is treated as a risk and this risk-orientated view could colour how an organisation views innovation and integrates new technology. With more and more healthcare opportunities open to hospitals, a risk-based view could have a negative consequence for the patient. This leads to a prioritisation of projects based on the value they deliver for the hospital and patient and to taking these priorities into account when weighing up the merits vs risks.  

I am taking more time for reflection and writing up posts related to MedoSync’s areas of expertise: medical billing, healthcare, technology, and being a start-up in that ecosystem.

Want to learn more about MedoSync, connect with me on LinkedIn or visit our business profile on LinkedIn.

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