Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Why Hospitals Must Strengthen Every Link - Including Their Revenue Cycle Vendors
In today's healthcare environment, cybersecurity is essential to patient safety, operational continuity, and financial stability.
Hospitals process and store highly sensitive data - from medical records and financial information to personal identifiers - making them prime targets for cybercriminals and even state-sponsored attackers.
The stakes are high. A single breach can result in:
- Disrupted patient care and treatment delays
- Data loss or exposure of protected health information (PHI)
- Millions in financial losses from ransom payments, regulatory fines, and downtime
- Reputational damage and patient mistrust
- Potential loss of life when critical systems are interrupted
Cybersecurity is not just an IT responsibility - it's a foundational business risk that every healthcare leader must actively manage.
Third-Party Vendors: An Overlooked Risk to Hospital Cybersecurity
While many healthcare organizations have fortified their own internal cybersecurity practices, an often-overlooked vulnerability remains: third-party vendors, including Revenue Cycle staffing partners.
Vendors supporting critical functions like coding, billing, and patient collections often handle sensitive health and financial data. If a vendor's cybersecurity is not held to the same high standards as the hospital's, they can become an entry point for cyber threats - exposing the hospital to breach risks even if internal defenses are strong.
Common vendor-related risks include:
- Unauthorized or unsecured system access
- Mishandling of PHI or payment data
- Delayed billing and collections from operational disruption
- Regulatory exposure under HIPAA and other healthcare laws
Your cybersecurity posture is only as strong as your most vulnerable vendor.
Core Cybersecurity Best Practices Every Hospital (and Vendor) Should Implement
To protect operations, revenue, and patient safety, healthcare organizations — and their staffing partners — should implement the following cybersecurity best practices:
- Access Controls and Identity Management: Enforce strict access policies using multi-factor authentication (MFA) and least-privilege principles, ensuring staff and vendors only have access to the systems they need.
- Network Segmentation: Isolate critical systems to prevent malware or ransomware from spreading across the enterprise.
- Vulnerability Management: Continuously scan, assess, and patch known vulnerabilities across all systems and connected devices.
- Vendor and Third-Party Risk Management: Regularly assess the cybersecurity posture of all partners and suppliers through certifications, audits, and performance monitoring.
- Threat Detection and Response: Employ 24/7 network and system monitoring with advanced threat detection tools, such as Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) platforms.
What to Demand From Vendors Supporting Revenue Cycle Operations
When evaluating Revenue Cycle staffing partners, hospitals should require clear proof of cybersecurity maturity. Key elements to look for include:
- Regulatory Compliance Certifications: Vendors should demonstrate HIPAA compliance and have independent validations like SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 certifications.
- Data Protection Standards: All patient and financial data must be encrypted both in transit and at rest.
- Business Associate Agreement (BAA): Ensure a valid BAA is in place—a HIPAA-required agreement that holds vendors accountable for data protection, compliance, and breach liability.
- Financial Stability: Evaluate the vendor’s financial strength to ensure they can invest in cybersecurity and maintain service continuity during disruptions.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for All Systems and Users: MFA should be a non-negotiable standard for system access.
- Breach Notification and Incident Response Processes: Vendors must have predefined, tested plans for breach response, with immediate notification protocols.
- Regular Security Audits: Both internal and third-party audits should be conducted, and findings should be transparently shared with clients.
- Ongoing Security Awareness Training: Staff and contractors must receive frequent training on phishing, social engineering, and emerging threats.
Vendors that cannot meet these standards represent significant risks to hospital security, finances, and patient trust.
Our Revenue Cycle Vendor Cybersecurity Checklist is a useful tool for evaluating Revenue Cycle Services (RCS) vendors, ensuring they meet these critical cybersecurity standards.
AMN Healthcare: A Commitment to Cybersecurity Excellence
At AMN Healthcare, cybersecurity is not an afterthought — it’s a core commitment.
We safeguard ourselves and our hospital clients through a layered, proactive cybersecurity strategy, including:
- Zero Trust Model: No internal or external user is trusted by default; continuous verification is required.
- Advanced Threat Detection: Our EDR/XDR platforms monitor 10,000+ endpoints with AI-driven analytics.
- SOC 2 Certification: All client-facing applications are SOC 2 certified, validating our security controls.
- Cloud Security: Our AWS and Azure environments are secured using industry-leading standards.
- Regulatory Compliance: We align with NIST CSF 2.0 and HIPAA requirements across all operations.
- Employee Training: Continuous security awareness programs and simulated phishing attacks strengthen our frontline defenses.
- Incident Response and Recovery Planning: We regularly test and refine our incident response strategies to ensure rapid containment and recovery.
When it comes to Revenue Cycle support, we add an extra layer of protection:
- PCI-DSS Compliance: Safeguarding payment information.
- Revenue System Segmentation: Critical billing and payment systems are isolated and tightly monitored.
- Strict PHI Access Controls: Access is limited, logged, and audited to prevent unauthorized exposure.
We protect what matters most: your patients, your operations, and your financial stability.
Final Thoughts: Strengthen Every Link to Strengthen Your Future
Cybersecurity is no longer just an internal concern — it’s a shared responsibility across your entire network of partners and vendors.
Hospitals must extend the same high cybersecurity expectations to third-party staffing partners who support critical functions like Revenue Cycle Management.
Choosing vendors with mature, proven cybersecurity practices is no longer optional — it’s mission-critical.
Partnering with organizations like AMN Healthcare ensures that patient data, operational continuity, and financial integrity are fully protected.
Are you ready to take your healthcare system’s cybersecurity to the next level? Contact us at AMN Healthcare Revenue Cycle Solutions to learn how our advanced solutions and strategies can help your organization stay protected and compliant.
Secure your hospital’s future by strengthening every link in your cybersecurity chain.