Physicians are less confident in their institution’s abilities to counter cybersecurity threats than their healthcare IT and administration counterparts, a new survey from MedData reports.
The 272-response survey, conducted in June, looked to gauge the healthcare professionals perceptions on cybersecurity and the challenges they face.
MedData’s survey reported that 21% of physicians rated their organizations ability to counter cybercrime as below average, compared to 8% of administrators and IT professionals.
The survey found 3 top threats, as identified by healthcare professionals. Malicious outside threats topped the list, with 68% judging them as the greatest threat. Compromised applications, such as malware or hacked mobile apps, were identified by 65% as a top threat and system failures were considered a major risk by 40%.
Nearly 75% of Administrators and IT professionals said email and messaging systems were the most vulnerable systems in their networks, while only 50% of physicians agreed. Electronic health records and mobile communication devices were also identified as top risks.
Over 80% of respondents said their top driver for securing sensitive data was due to the need to comply with regulatory standards and requirements, with 44% responding that they were driven to do so to increase their ability to resopnd to new or emerging threats.
The survey did not indicate the ratio of physicians, administrators and IT professionals that were surveyed.
