Cyberattack Change Healthcare

Dr. Gloria Wu discusses the significant cyber attack on Change Healthcare that occurred in February 2024.  Many doctors, including herself, were only notified about the data breach in October—six months later. By law, companies are required to inform customers within 60 days if their personal health data is compromised, but Change Healthcare missed this deadline without facing the usual penalties. The breach affected approximately 90% of U.S. doctors, as 900,000 out of 1 million healthcare providers had their practices compromised, leading to widespread financial and operational difficulties. Dr. Wu highlights the ongoing struggles for affected doctors, including issues with reimbursement and compromised bank accounts, prompting many to change their banking information. She urges her fellow physicians to advocate for themselves by contacting U.S. senators and their US Congress representatives to address the lack of transparency and support from Change Healthcare. This situation underscores the challenges posed by large healthcare conglomerates and their third-party vendors, raising concerns about patient data security and the reliability of healthcare payment systems.