Brandon, Florida Geriatric Care Management Cyber Liability Program for 2020

The typical Geriatric Care Management Agency maintains a significant amount of confidential information pertaining to patients that includes both personal health and identifiable information.

The potential harm to clients, as well as resulting legal liability, may be significant. The coverage form is Network Security and Privacy Insurance that features simplified underwriting for qualifying members of NAPGCM. The product offers a streamlined application process that simplifies quoting and binding. The applicant that meets program qualifications can choose options from the rate card and request to bind.

As technology advances, long term care providers, like other healthcare providers, are increasingly dependent on digital data.  Electronic storage of residents’ medical records and the virtual delivery of care have made it critical for management facilities to protect sensitive data.  

Many nursing homes and other senior or assisted living facilities (collectively “Long Term Care providers”) may not have a plan in place to protect themselves and their patients/residents from a cyber attack. 

Exposure to cyber attacks can impact every segment of the healthcare business. Long Term Care providers, however, are particularly vulnerable given the nature of on-site adult living and the way patient health information is managed and delivered.  According to a report by the Leading Age Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST), most small to mid-size institutions are at greater risk than traditional healthcare organizations because those facilities may be less mature in the deployment of cybersecurity plans for resident/patient protection.  

Innovative electronic health record technology allows doctors, hospital systems and other healthcare facilities to maintain and store data and share personal clinical treatment electronically.  Files can include everything from patient demographics, prescriptions, procedures, test results, and much more.  Yet, cyber attacks within the healthcare universe are unfortunately inevitable. 

Telehealth platforms present new challenges for the protection of an individual’s medical information.  More than 20 million Americans now benefit from some manner of remote health care treatment, and many factors drive the need for telemedicine care, serving people living in isolated or rural areas of the country that may not have ready access to receive needed healthcare services.

In the event of a cyber breach, the monetary costs involved with remediation of the network, notification expenses and any damages incurred by a resident, especially where the facility has been deemed negligent in safeguarding medical records, can be staggering.  Long Term Care providers should have a cyber risk response plan in place.  They should carry cyber liability insurance that provides first and third-party coverage for the loss of or damage to digital data.

Making sure facility-wide incident liability coverage is in place that protects against a potential network security and privacy breach can be a daunting undertaking, and it is important for providers to obtain a cyber liability policy that coordinates with their healthcare professional and general liability policy.

Odiorne Insurance is in collaboration with diverse underwriters have developed cyber insurance solutions that include coverage for cyber security and privacy liability risks on its long term care professional and general liability policy.

We also can help your facility safeguard against network security and privacy liability risks with reimbursement of costs associated with breach notification, recovery and remediation, any regulatory fines.

Heightened awareness of potential exposure amongst the facility’s management, staff and healthcare providers is an essential first step.