The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a concept paper outlining the planned steps to enhance cyber resilience and ensure patient safety.
The paper states the department’s four pillars for action as part of its cybersecurity strategy for the healthcare sector. The first two are publishing voluntary healthcare and public health sector cybersecurity performance goals and providing resources to incentivize and implement cybersecurity practices, HHS said Wednesday.
Under the second plan of action, HHS will work with Congress to secure funding and authority to provide incentives and financial support for hospitals as they implement cybersecurity practices.
The other two steps are implementing a departmentwide strategy to support greater enforcement and accountability and expanding and maturing the one-stop shop within HHS for health care sector cybersecurity.
“HHS is working with health care and public health partners to bolster our cyber security capabilities nationwide. We are taking necessary actions that will make a big difference for the hospitals, patients, and communities who are being impacted,” said Xavier Becerra, secretary of HHS and a previous Wash100 awardee.