Stuart M. Gerson, Member of the Firm in the Litigation and Health Care & Life Sciences practices, in the firm’s Washington, DC, and New York offices, was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Health Care Daily Report, in “Congress on the Hunt to Upgrade Health-Care Technology,” by James Swann. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Congress is looking to upgrade health-care technology platforms as the industry faces growing threats from hackers.
Health-care systems across the country are using outdated technology in everything from billing systems to patient intake, making them vulnerable to financially devastating cyberattacks.
A House Energy and Commerce Committee request for information asked for public comments by May 31 on the challenges associated with so-called legacy health-care technology as well as potential opportunities from upgrading technology.
Outdated technology led to 2017’s WannaCry cyberattack, which exploited a vulnerability in 30-year-old software and crippled more than 16 British hospitals and 200,000 computers in 150 countries. …
Congress is likely to get comments from supporters of an upgrade as well as health-care organizations that can’t afford one, Stuart Gerson, a health-care attorney with Epstein Becker & Green P.C. in Washington, told Bloomberg Law.
Some organizations will be much more willing to upgrade their systems, while others, like hospitals, will want to but won’t be able to afford it, Gerson said.
There may be a role for Congress to play in encouraging health-care technology upgrades, but action on that won’t come soon due to the cumbersome legislative pace, Gerson said.
