Pooling IT resources can help rural hospitals keep doors open, stay secure

Small and rural healthcare organizations have to wrestle with many challenges that are often their largest counterparts are more able to move. Not doing so can risk closing.

Inspection care is a large one, of course. Along with high operating costs, Low payment Many rural health systems and hospitals mean delicate financial ice and fear of finding themselves in The edge of the closure.

Another challenge is cybersecurity. Violations of the expensive data can pose the existential risk of some facilities. Worse, small hospitals are often The most important goals of the Internet criminals. It is not a challenge that many can Their face alone.

Consider this vicious course:

• The workforce deficiency and/or increased employment costs lead the need to invest in technology that controls the total operating costs.
• But the added programs and new information technology platforms offer new risks to network security, which require more investments in cybersecurity to protect institutions from poor actors that seek to disrupt services or retain protected data for Ransom.
• If the electronic attack succeeds, the accident offers new recovery costs and may bear expensive fines for settlement with organizational agencies for their failure to protect the patient’s data.

These are significant major problems for young service providers and only the workforce and resources they already deal with.

However, some affordable technology strategies that can be controlled can help treat these security gaps, while maintaining and operating service providers while providing high -quality patient care and securing their data.

We have recently spoken to Chris Stenglene, CEO of Corrie, which develops health care financing techniques and other tools. He discussed how rural healthcare providers can manage these challenges while maintaining profitability.

We also talked to George Papas, CEO of Security Services, INTRAPRISE Health, a health catalyst, about how small health systems can enhance Internet flexibility by purchasing them and collectively and contracting with low -cost virtual security personnel.

Both experts say that young service providers and rurals can benefit from some accurate and cooperative methods of cost efficiency and cybersecurity.

The ability to bear the costs

Babas said that the financial struggle is especially sharp for rural emergency hospitals (25-50 beds) does not receive the same explicit federal assistance as critical access hospitals (25 beds and less).

Steinglen said in a separate conversation, when MEDICAID reduces access to care, it stimulates service providers who serve rural and incomplete communities to consider other methods of improper care.

Medicaid government regulations increase the complexity of the financial stability of rural service providers, as high eligibility thresholds can significantly reduce the payment of the large parts of their patients.

As a result, the patient has become the biggest motive for health care, Steinglen said.

“What we hear from the executive financial manager, executives, and directors of the revenue course and even the patient’s accessories. [is that] Patients continued to postpone care. ”

This gap in the ability to withstand costs, which was aggravated by Covid-19, has pushed hospitals to connect patients with payment sources and help service providers continue to finance their care services.

Stangin said that reducing the level of incompatible care in the rural health system by 10-20 % could avoid closing its doors permanently.

Curae’s cost -recovery and containment platform for federal health centers (FQCCs) and acute care providers, who appoint many data sources to link patients with possible payment opportunities and automate bills communications with them.

Cost burdens

Stephene said that the statute is looking into all the means of eligibility, and they define insured patients a wrong classification that they are self -driven, and to conduct eligibility for medical aid and simplify access to sources of charitable financing and horses, and provides an option for self -payment financing.

He said: “Unanfected and non -documented individuals” who are applying for applicable can be approved, while providing customers can pay returns between 10 % to 30 % of unequal care levels.

In general, for patients who are applying for a two-year-old or five-year-old plan, average 80-94 % has been relied upon.

Stangin said that a multi -state healthy system runs dozens of rural hospitals gained more than $ 100 million in transactions over more than two years from 90,000 applicants, 93 % of which were approved.

“With the patient reducing his balance, they can use the remaining credit limit through most of our sharp services and ambulance cars,” said the patient’s support specialist from the organization in a joint statement with him. Health care news.

Stephen said that filling the ability to withstand costs and encourage more patients to seek care when needed a data engine to simplify the complex process of charitable care and provide charitable resources and free pharmaceutical programs.

They are “old and paper”.

With the automatic statute that connects patients to health care resources and assisting non -insured patients in finding reasonable prices, providers can avoid adding employment costs and burdens.

Safety in numbers

Babas said that many smaller hospitals do not perform basic cybersecurity practices such as managing distinguished accounts, multi -factor authentication or conducting regular weakness and correction in a timely manner.

He said that community hospitals that work on smaller electronic health records systems (EHR) often face these issues.

Babas said: “I saw this directly.” “They have shared common ideas because cloud computing was present for a period of time. How safe is the elegance of the partition and the responsibilities of the user?”

Basic progress can be made with relatively small investments. Federal programs, such as Microsoft’s and other large technology Awareness initiativesAnd it showed that this is true, added.

However, although many temporary access to access to evaluation and temporary treatment products, long -term sustainability and consistent supervision to repair weaknesses will remain a challenge for rural service providers.

Babas said it is very important to join their cooperation, such as the networks under control of the health center (HCCNS).

These groups supported EHRS, improving data sharing, and provided joint licenses and operating support to members, including joint infrastructure services.

“The concept behind FQHCs and HCCNS is to enable young health care providers to reach high-quality support and good resources for both the front and rear office operations-you will wrestle to build and manage on their own,” he said.

He said OSIS, who serves more than 100 health centers in 32 states, is the HCCN who “represents this model”.

To support the annual security risk analyzes of members to ensure compliance with HIPAA privacy law, Oosis has carried out an automatic tool called one HIPAA to increase the completion of security risk assessments (SRAS), according to the case study provided.

In the first year, the joint tool achieved an improvement of 83.9 % in completing Sra and an increase of 11.5 % on an annual basis in the oosis members who completed SRA.

Papas said that improvement rates show that “without central support from organizations such as OSIS and tools such as HIPAA One, often fighting individual medical practices to complete SRA.” “Either many people overlook them or abandon the operation in the middle of the road due to limited understanding, time or financial resources.”

The common tool not only helped OSIS members identify and address security problems, but also provided compliance time. With many Sra questions answered through the HIPAA One platform, “When a health center log in to its local version, more than half of the questions have already been packed.”

Since Oosis has a central vision of progress, it can give priority to the place that is supported by its membership and providing resources to treat the highest risk.

Papas said: “In the end, this security turns from an exercise of compliance once a year into an ongoing conversation.”

Although individual hospitals are ultimately responsible for their security status, the HCCN model allows the collection of resources to exchange security centers, penetration penetration test and other tools that reduce the burden of safety operations.

Submit VCISO

Babas said another important strategy for cybersecurity for rural service providers is the implementation of the Virtual Information Security official. IntraPrise offers a set of cybersecurity services, including Vcisos.

In this model, cyberspace security professional is helping to oversee security practices and protocols through multiple hospitals and health systems. With a distance accountability, they can take care of safety programs and determine the priorities of repairs.

while Microsoft’s rural weakness program It was useful, “Why don’t they make all these most advanced features available on a permanent basis, such as a non -profit program?” Papas suggested.

After the Health Care Organization chooses to take advantage of the Microsoft Program evaluation and a 75 % discount for one year on safety products that help it to determine the required system treatment, “a person must oversee the reform.”

“How can more be available on a more sustainable basis? This is a kind of puzzle there. I think the industry will face when [the assessment and discount program] The wind.

While automation and artificial intelligence techniques can improve the capacity of the end point detection and their treatment of rural hospitals with large weaknesses caused by old technology and old systems, artificial intelligence is not ready to manage cybersecurity alone.

Papas said: “It can only be tracked automated treatment.” “You still need a person who has some accountability towards that organization to consider those suspended things that need to be repaired.”

VCISO can help keep it Defending cybersecurity One of the best minds between the leadership of the organization, in addition to discovering and preventing electronic threats in other ways.

“A person who does not live there is fractures and can do a lot of this job away,” he said.

If rural organizations benefit from resources such as CISOS and HCCNS to improve security situations and operations, you may not only avoid closure, but also find that they can increase their margins, attract more patients and improve health results.

Andrea Fox is a great health care editor.
Email: Afox@himss.org
Healthcare is Hosz News.