Practice leaders manage cybersecurity with in-house and outsourced resources

Medical Group Management Association’s MGMA Stat poll asked healthcare professionals how their organizations manage their cybersecurity needs. Responses indicated substantial diversity in how respondents perform this important function with 31 percent indicating cybersecurity was performed by in-house staff, while 21 percent described their organization outsourced the work. The largest proportion (47 percent) described they used both in-house and outside resources, and 1 percent indicated another option.  

Respondents who managed their cybersecurity in-house reported a median of two staff members dedicated to the function. The organizations which use both in-house staff and an outside vendor described how cybersecurity responsibilities were divided between staff and contractors. A common process was for employees having responsibility for day-to-day security while infrequent actions such as penetration testing or security audits were delegated to third parties.

The poll was conducted on July 18, 2017 with 1,030 total responses.

MGMA Stat is a national poll that addresses practice management topics, the impact of new legislation, and related topics. Participation is open to all healthcare professionals. Results of other polls and information on how to participate in MGMA Stat is available at: mgma.com/stat .