The clinical safety team at NHS Digital provide clinical safety assurance service across the whole of NHS Digital's work and to the wider health and social care service in England. They ensure that the health IT used by care professionals is safe and that organisations have met mandatory clinical safety standards.
The number of cyberattacks and information system breaches in healthcare has grown steadily, escalating from isolated incidents to widespread targeted and malicious attacks. In 2022, 707 data breeches occurred in the US, exposing more than 51.9 million patient records, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
To help healthcare organisations address this growing patient safety concern, The Joint Commission has issued this Sentinel Event Alert that focuses on risks associated with cyberattacks and provides recommendations on how healthcare organizations can prepare to deliver safe patient care in the event of a cyberattack.