By By Dan Hounsell

As healthcare systems continue trying to fend off cyber attacks from a host of sources, the federal government is stopping up its funding for programs and technologies that aim to help systems fortify their defenses.

The recently enacted $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package includes significant funds for tech efforts, such as increased cybersecurity defenses and telehealth infrastructure upgrades, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The legislation includes tens of billions of dollars to help with vaccine distribution and administration efforts, as well as COVID-19 testing and genomic sequencing. Rural healthcare providers also will benefit from the legislation. 

The relief package will affect healthcare IT in several ways, including these: 

• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will get $650 million for cybersecurity risk mitigation, including increasing protections of the vaccine supply chain.

• The bill will disperse $140 million to the Indian Health Service for IT, telehealth infrastructure and electronic health record systems upgrades. 

• The Emergency Connectivity Fund, which supports broadband connectivity capabilities across the United States, will get $7.1 billion.