Black Book Survey Analyzes Impact of Clearinghouse Ransomware Outage on Medical Practices

Following a significant ransomware attack on a major claims clearinghouse, Black Book Research conducted a survey among 30,000 healthcare providers to understand the impact on medical practices. According to Doug Brown, President of Black Book, the incident has revealed vulnerabilities and prompted practices to reassess their vendor relationships and contingency plans.

The survey, which saw a 44% response rate, highlights that many practices faced tough choices due to disrupted cash flows, leading to new lines of credit, withdrawal of personal savings, and other emergency financial measures. Additionally, 89% of respondents learned about the outage through secondary sources rather than directly from the clearinghouse, causing significant dissatisfaction with the communication received.

Many practices are now reevaluating their clearinghouse arrangements, with 31% considering changes to their vendor contracts to enhance cybersecurity measures. The survey also recognizes companies like Veradigm, Waystar, Experian, and Availity for effectively handling the increased customer volume during the outage period.