With the increasing threat of cybersecurity and the growing digital demand, rural hospitals, often operated by IT crew’s skeletal budgets, are facing disproportionate risks. To address this issue, Microsoft recently launched a plan to strengthen cybersecurity and expand AI access to rural communities in the country.
The program was launched about 18 months ago in response to the White House, the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) regarding the cybersecurity vulnerability of rural providers. Laura Kreofsky, director of rural health at the tech giant, said the plan has evolved significantly since then, and Microsoft is now working with more than 700 rural hospitals across the country.
Kreofsky explained that all the pressures facing healthcare providers, such as staffing, cybersecurity and digital transformation, are “amplified” due to smaller budgets and fewer resources. She zeroed in on cybersecurity and noted that rural providers often lack dedicated cybersecurity personnel, which makes them vulnerable to attacks and slows down efforts to modernize.
“It’s no joke. I worked at Wayne on Tuesday as an IT guy’s hospital, and then on Thursday, he was in the bait shop, on Friday, he was in the hardware shop, so they were trying to keep up with the technology changes,” Kreofsky explained.
Microsoft’s Rural Health Program gives rural providers free access to cybersecurity assessments, cyber awareness training and technical product support. Kreofsky said the company also offers premium discounts on tools and software for critical access and rural emergency hospitals – typically in the 60-75% range.
She added that the discounted tools have built-in cybersecurity features that allow hospitals to upgrade while spending less.
“What can you do with these savings? You can make good use of them – keeping the door open, being able to hire more nurses, being able to get more training for your networking staff and IT staff and the certifications they need to help keep the environment safe,” Kreofsky said.
Microsoft also aims to help innovate the competitive environment through its rural health AI labs. Kreofsky noted that two rural hospitals have partnered with the company to build AI tools for use cases, including optimizing outbound recommendation workflows and automated insurance claims rejection.
In her opinion, the lab provides the mysterious information about AI to rural IT teams.
“I think we’re also sparking innovation in some of these rural hospitals. I can think of a hospital in southern Oregon where there is a CIO part of the first ones. Now, he and his team are building their own AI tools and he literally said to me, ‘If you would have told me a year ago my team would have been building the AI tools that were generated, you would have said?
With the right support and tools, she believes there is a way forward where rural hospitals can turn their messy resilience into lasting innovation.
Photo: Marekuliasz, Getty Images
