Native American tribes and tribal agencies looking to benefit from artificial intelligence and advancements in healthcare IT must prioritize cybersecurity and IT modernization, according to CDW technology experts, citing a recent Indian Health Service implementation as an example.
“IHS is planning for a new electronic health record, and as a part of this implementation, there will be some transition to the cloud. Ensuring all of the steps are in place to migrate securely to the cloud will be important to creating a safe EHR environment,” says Larissa Manor, advanced technology account executive at CDW.
During the 25th annual TribalNet Conference and Tradeshow, IHS will provide updates on this health IT infrastructure initiative.
Conference attendees can also expect to hear a lot about the future of artificial intelligence in tribal health, cybersecurity maturity, and talent and skills development. It’s critical that cyber resilience and IT readiness remain top of mind above all else throughout these sessions, Manor says.
“Focusing too much on AI might be putting the cart before the horse.”
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Cybersecurity Takes Center Stage
Tribal leaders and federal agencies may experience resource shortages as they dip their toes into IT modernization and all that comes with it. This includes cyber resilience, which has been a prominent theme at TribalNet conferences.
In recent years, ransomware has become particularly problematic among tribal communities, especially at casinos, notes Dallas Breckon, federal executive account manager at CDW.
“They are being hit much more often than you read about in the news, and some have had to pay out,” he says.
Cybersecurity is already important for protecting data, avoiding disruptions and saving money, but it’s also a precursor to investing in infrastructure overhauls. For instance, not disclosing the use of AI could potentially void a cyber insurance policy, Breckon says.
One way that understaffed or under-resourced tribes and agencies might look to achieve more robust cyber resilience is by leaning on managed security services. These might include a managed security operations center and Backup as a Service.
“Doing annual security assessments and penetration testing is also important,” Breckon says. “Every three to four years just is not enough.”
Maximizing Available Resources Is a Key Challenge
As tribes and the federal agencies serving them seek to modernize their IT environments and start thinking about how AI can improve health IT in particular, they will need access to more IT professionals than are currently available to them.
“Many are still on-premises. And now, needing to move to the cloud, they will need support,” Breckon says. “It’s going to be a lot of work to update some of the more archaic systems.”
In addition to engaging managed services, Breckon says that staff augmentation, via both in-person and remote roles, can help address some of workforce shortage issues.
“It’s an important conversation we’re having with tribes: not only preparing for the modernization, but also managing it once implemented.”
Access to bandwidth and funding are also big challenges facing tribes. However, Breckon notes that this is yet another area where the private sector can offer support.
“CDW will have someone from the grant team onsite at TribalNet that tribes can use as a resource at the event and beyond,” he says.
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