Hackers can access many e-health records and modify them unbeknownst to the software’s legitimate users, according to a new study by an organization concerned about EHR vulnerabilities.
The E-Health Vulnerability Reporting Program (EHVRP), a nonprofit organization formed in 2006, issued a summary of its findings after a 15-month study assessing the security risks associated with EHR systems.
It found that a low level of hacking skills would suffice to get into a system, retrieve data and make changes, such as altering medication dosages or deleting records.
The good news: The “risk of vulnerability exploitation can be dramatically reduced when vulnerabilities are known and appropriate security controls are in place,” the report’s executive summary states.
For the most part, EHR systems are no more vulnerable to hackers than other kinds of application software used in other industries, the report states. However, medical software users are less aware of vulnerabilities and are spending less on IT security as a portion of their revenues, the study found.
It recommended that EHR software vendors do more testing of their systems’ security and disclose to customers any vulnerabilities they find. Vendors' remediation of vulnerabilities often takes too long, it added.
The study is leading to the formation of another organization that will focus on health information technology application security. “The health care industry is taking steps to be more diligent and coordinated in addressing information security issues,” Daniel Nutkis, a Dallas consultant and an EHVRP board member, said in a statement.
“To that end, a number of leading organizations representing providers, medical device manufacturers, electronic health record vendors, information security vendors, health plans, pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers have begun the formation of an organization to shepherd and guide information security issues facing the US healthcare industry," he added.
"The organization will focus on information security process, practice and policy, while coordinating with the existing national and international standards and certification organizations. It will publicly announce its plans shortly.”
Although the Certification Commission for Healthcare IT tests EHR products for security, the report states that testing was not revealing the vulnerabilities. The EHVRP did penetration testing of seven systems, including five certified by CCHIT.
One of the systems tested was the system used by HealthCare Partners Medical Group in Southern California. Leo Dittemore, the group’s IT security director, said the testing revealed vulnerabilities that the group has remedied with measures such as an intrusion-prevention system.
The study also included a survey of 850 health care provider organizations.
From the battlefield to the home front: Managing medical data
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