e-Prescriptions for Dentists?

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

By Darrell K. Pruitt DDS

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Some say e-prescriptions are a swell idea for dentists!

“Over 70% of organizations suffered two or more ransomware attacks in the past 12 months – According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team based on a Veeam 2022 Ransomware Trends Report, 73% of organizations suffered two or more ransomware attacks in the past 12 months. The majority — 44% of ransomware infections entered through phishing emails, links, and websites. In total, 35% of organizations experienced two ransomware attacks, nearly a quarter (24%) endured three, close to a fifth (9%) of companies had four, and 4% went through five. Meanwhile, 1% of organizations suffered six or more ransomware attacks in the past 12 months. The remaining 27% of organizations faced only one ransomware attack.” By Acrofan, June 15, 2022.
https://us.acrofan.com/detail.php?number=679260

“Why Ransomware Extortion is a Threat – In a typical ransomware extortion scheme, files are not only encrypted, but are also copied and exfiltrated from the network. Then, when the time comes to demand payment, hackers also say that if the business doesn’t meet their ransom demands within a given timeframe, they will publish the stolen files, or undertake some other activity to harm the business, such as a DDoS attack. This is known as double, or even triple extortion, with threats to release confidential information to the public, disrupt internet access or inform customers, shareholders or other partners about the incident unless they pay the ransom. It puts more pressure on businesses to make a quick decision, boosts the odds of criminals getting a big payout and increases the number of risks firms are exposed to, so this type of ransomware is something every firm should be concerned about.” By Brenda Robb for Security Boulevard on June 15, 2022.
https://securityboulevard.com/2022/06/why-ransomware-extortion-is-a-threat/

It is also worth noting that if a dentist suffers a ransomware attack, HIPAA demands that all affected patients be notified that their identities might have been breached and might show up on the internet. If the breach involves 500 or more records, a description of the incident must be reported in the local media. This could easily bankrupt a practice even before the ransom is paid. What’s more, from the increasing numbers of data breaches that are occurring, one can surmise that dentists are not obeying the law … not yet.

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