The 5 most-read healthcare blogs of 2017: See what you missed

What captured the attention of healthcare professionals this year? Well, if our blog is any indication, quite a lot! As 2017 comes to an end, we take a look back at the top five most-read stories on our healthcare blog and what they tell us about the priorities and interests of our audience (Spoiler alert: cyber security is the runaway hit.)

We’ll start with number five and work our way up.

“Digital Transformation” is more than just a buzzword.

It’s inescapable: Healthcare is going digital, and leaders are looking for ways to extract maximum value from the shift. In March of this year, IDC released a Vendor Spotlight outlining the challenges and opportunities ahead for healthcare, including how the Cisco portfolio can help. Our fifth most-read blog post summarizes the report and includes links to an infographic as well as the full spotlight. Read the blog here.

Cybersecurity concerns rise to the top as healthcare lags in maturity.

Our 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report held some disconcerting news for healthcare, revealing that less than a one-third of healthcare organizations have high security preparedness, or “maturity.” At the same time, cyber attacks are rising and becoming more sophisticated, so the time to act is now. The fourth most-read post explores news from the annual report and offers a link to an infographic outlining solutions to ten of the most common healthcare security challenges. Read the blog here.

High-profile cyber attack rattles healthcare professionals worldwide.

On May 12, 2017, the now-famous WannaCry ransomware attack seriously disrupted patient care across the National Health Service in the UK (as well as other businesses across the globe). As files were locked and computers rendered inoperable, thousands of non-emergency appointments were canceled and ambulances  were forced to divert to other facilities. The attack was a wake-up call to many in the industry, forcing organizations to take a closer look at software patches and other, more sophisticated defenses. Our third most-read blog, posted on the day of the attack, broke the news to our audience and offered a link to a timely white paper on cyber security strategies for healthcare. Read the blog here.

The EHR is now an essential part of healthcare operations—and infrastructure must keep up.

The announcement of a partnership between Cisco and Pure Storage generated the second most-read healthcare post of the year. Our solution, called FlashStack, combines Cisco UCS with industry-leading flash storage in one powerful package. This is especially good news for for customers of Epic, the leading electronic health record (EHR) software vendor in the U.S., because FlashStack is Epic-compliant.  Now, all of the data coming in through your EHR can be stored in a more modern way that allows you to drive always-on, high performance for Epic (even under heavy use), and deploy a cloud-like infrastructure for flexible growth. Read the blog here.

Groundbreaking FDA action lends urgency to the threat of medical device hacking.

Our number one most-read post in 2017 has to do with the topic on everyone’s minds, cyber security. In late August, the FDA announced the first-ever recall of a medical device—a pacemaker—due to security concerns. This action was the culmination of an investigation by the FDA in February that highlighted a number of areas of non-compliance. The news generated significant buzz, partially because it is the first time that the FDA has acted to protect patient health in this way. And while there have been no reports of patient harm to date, connected devices continue to pose a threat to both patients and facilities—a fact underscored by the FDA’s announcement. Read the blog here.

Bonus post! A look back at everyone’s favorite portability and accountability act.

Just for fun, here’s my favorite post of the year—well, at least it was my favorite to write.  It combines HIPAA, cyber security, and…Prince? Check it out!

So there you have it—2017 in a nutshell. If you missed them the first time (or even if you didn’t), we hope you’ll go back and give these healthcare blogs another look. As we move on to 2018, we look forward to a year that promises even more opportunity and innovation in digital healthcare. Thank you for letting us be a part of the journey.