Telehealth is the Future but may Also be Healthcare Security’s Achilles' Heel

Everything changed overnight for telehealth at the onset of Covid-19. We went from a small footprint to telehealth becoming one of the most common ways Americans access care. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, nearly half of Medicare primary care visits were telehealth visits in April 2020, compared to 0.1% in February. Waiting weeks to months for a 15-minute physician exam is no longer acceptable for many when you can just set up a quick telehealth conference. However, with widespread healthcare breaches making news, such as the recent suspected ransomware hack on United Health Services, security executives should be on guard because the rise of telehealth has provided new entry points for hackers to exploit. 

Ditching telehealth isn’t an option, as consumer preferences have quickly shifted toward accessing care through virtual means. In a recent survey, my company quantified how a majority of Americans are rapidly opting for telehealth visits amid Covid-19 (54%), and more than 7 in 10 of these telehealth enthusiasts plan to continue virtual visits once the pandemic subsides. No one could have predicted what's happening in telehealth today — where the rate of adoption reflects what the industry likely predicted to take place over the next five to 10 years happening in a matter of months.