If the first few months of 2020 taught healthcare professionals anything, it’s that they were not nearly as well prepared to handle unexpected crises as they probably thought they were. With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a serious economic crisis, a global increase in civil unrest, extreme weather from climate change, murder hornets in the U.S. and now cannibal rats devouring each other in large cities (because that might as well happen too, right?), it seems unexpected risks are coming from new directions almost daily.

In the recent weeks of the COVID-19 public health emergency, public scam alerts have been issued by both the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service warning of a surge in criminal activity related to the outbreak. As often happens during times of crisis, bad actors are taking advantage and running various criminal schemes from increased phishing attacks to fake websites and retail fraud. In fact, these schemes have become so rampant that federal law enforcement recently formed a joint Coronavirus Fraud Task Force in conjunction with Virginia state law enforcement.

Halloween is just around the corner, and October started out with some pretty scary stuff. 2019 has already been a particularly terrifying year when it comes to ransomware attacks. Depending on how long you have been following this blog, you may recall the so-called “Ransomware Explosion” of 2016. At that time, five healthcare organizations were hit by ransomware attacks in a single month and the FBI reported a record 321 attacks in a period of only nine months, totaling $57 million in ransom payments.

The term “cloud” gets tossed around a lot these days as software providers talk about their “cloud-based” offerings and their technology that “sits on the web.” However, there are some common misconceptions surrounding this concept that warrant clarification. As specialty providers look to upgrade their technology solutions, they should make sure they fully appreciate what it means to be in the cloud and how that can impact their functionality, efficiency and performance.

Never has there been a more dynamic time in healthcare, and the pace of change is extraordinary. Emerging payment models are encouraging more proactive care, demanding greater collaboration and rewarding value. In addition, rising consumerism is pushing for more service-oriented patient experiences. Given these evolving—and sometimes contradictory—dynamics, ophthalmology, dermatology and plastic surgery providers should be continuously reexamining their processes for care delivery and operations to be sure they’re keeping up.

Building relationships are key to specialty practice marketing. Communicating to a target audience that the practice values them and wants to meet their needs helps cultivate strong affiliations with patients as well as other physicians who may refer patients to the organization. Establishing and reinforcing these connections can draw individuals into the practice, preserve loyalty and increase the likelihood for positive long-term performance.

As specialty practices embrace technology to improve performance, they often come to a crossroads. On one path is the option of having separate solutions to handle clinical care, practice management and financial operations. On the other side is the option of an integrated system that seamlessly supports all three functions.

Nextech is committed to protecting our customers both within our health care technology systems and through our communication channels. We recommend that our customers and all health care providers keep all systems updated with the latest security patches and perform annual security assessments. The Department of Health and Human Services offers an easy-to-use assessment tool to evaluate the security of your systems, data, policies and procedures.