IHA Daily Briefing: September 19

STILL TIME TO REGISTER: IHA-MAPS PSO Legal Webinar
All IHA members and Illinois healthcare providers are invited to join IHA and its component Patient Safety Organization (PSO), Midwest Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS) PSO, for a free Sept. 22 legal webinar, "PSO Case Law Updates, CANDOR and Expanding the PSES," from 10:55 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT. Michael R. Callahan, JD, Senior Consultant at that Hardenbergh Group, will offer the latest information on PSO case law and challenges to federal protections. The registration link can be found here.

This is an excellent opportunity for internal and external legal counsel, risk management teams, quality and patient safety professionals, and other healthcare staff. Attend to earn up to 1.5 hours of nurse continuing education credit for this program or 1.5 hours of general Continuing Legal Education.

IHA's MAPS is leading efforts to prevent medical error through resource sharing, education, and data collection and analysis. As a certified PSO since 2010, MAPS provides disclosure privileges, confidentiality and protections for reported patient events. Click here to learn more about MAPS benefits.

Please direct questions to [email protected].

REGISTER: Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment Course in Springfield
The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) Office of Preparedness and Response, in partnership with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, is offering a valuable opportunity to sharpen your cybersecurity expertise.

IT and cybersecurity professionals are invited to take part in the Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment course, held Nov. 5-6 at the IDPH Training Room, 1 Natural Resources Way, Springfield. This two-day training, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. CT each day, is designed to equip participants with the technical and professional skills needed to conduct thorough vulnerability assessments within their organizations. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, attendees will learn how to identify and prioritize assets, evaluate risks, and document vulnerabilities.

The course is open to state, local, tribal, and territorial representatives, as well as public and private sector IT and cybersecurity practitioners-including analysts, technicians, engineers, and managers.

To register, click here. For questions, please contact Bunmi Adanri at [email protected] or 217-299-3648.

CDC Health Alert: Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory about a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. EVD is a severe illness and is often fatal.

Currently, no suspected, probable, or confirmed EVD cases related to this outbreak have been reported in the United States or outside of the DRC. The risk of spread to the U.S. is considered low at this time. As a precaution, this Health Advisory summarizes CDC recommendations for U.S. public health departments, clinical laboratories, and healthcare workers about potential EVD case identification, testing, and biosafety considerations in clinical laboratories.

On Sept. 8, the CDC issued a Travel Health Notice for people traveling to the DRC. CDC recommends that all travelers to the affected health zones in DRC avoid contact with ill people during travel and monitor themselves for symptoms of EVD while in the outbreak area and for 21 days after leaving.

FBI Warns Salesforce Platforms Are Being Targeted by Cybercriminals
The FBI recently issued a warning to Salesforce customers to alert them hackers have been targeting Salesforce platforms. Cybercriminal groups UNC6040 and UNC6395 have successfully used voice phishing and exploited compromised access tokens for an AI chatbot that can be integrated with Salesforce, as a way to gain access to the platforms to steal data. The FBI alert advises organizations to employ mitigations, such as training call center employees to recognizing phishing attempts; implementing phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication; and limiting user actions.