Hospitals rely on hundreds of vendors to keep things running - billing platforms, IT services, medical device suppliers, cloud storage, telehealth apps. Every one of them has some level of access to patient data, financial records, or critical systems.
But here’s the problem: not all of them take security seriously.
Attackers know this.
They don’t have to break into a hospital’s network directly when they can go through a less secure vendor instead.
A breach at a third-party provider can expose patient data, cripple hospital operations, and disrupt care. And when that happens, it’s the patients who suffer first.
The Real Cost of a Vendor Breach
When a hospital or clinic loses access to electronic health records (EHRs), medical devices, or scheduling systems, everything slows down or worse, stops entirely.
Surgeries get delayed. Patients can’t get prescriptions. Ambulances are diverted to other hospitals because systems are down.
It’s already happening. A billing vendor gets hit with ransomware and suddenly hospitals can’t process claims. A medical device supplier gets breached, and attackers gain access to connected equipment inside healthcare facilities. A third-party scheduling platform gets compromised, and attackers steal patient data.
Every weak link in the vendor chain creates an opening for attackers to exploit and healthcare is full of them.
Why Vendor Security is a Healthcare Problem
Healthcare has strict regulations like HIPAA, but compliance alone isn’t enough. A hospital might follow every security best practice internally, but if a vendor gets breached, it doesn’t matter. Attackers aren’t going to hack the hardest target; they’re going after the easiest way in.
Most hospitals don’t know how many third parties have access to their systems, let alone how secure they are. Some outsource their own IT work, adding even more security blind spots to the mix.
How to Lock Down Third-Party Risk in Healthcare
Hospitals and healthcare providers need to start treating vendor security as part of patient safety. That means:
Knowing who has access. Every vendor, contractor, and supplier should be tracked, along with what systems they can access and how long they need it.
Requiring security controls. Vendors should have to meet the same security standards as internal teams. MFA, encrypted data, strong passwords, and regular security audits.
Limiting access. Vendors should only have access to what they need, when they need it and nothing more.
Monitoring for unusual activity. If a vendor account is acting suspiciously, it needs to be flagged immediately.
Having a plan for vendor breaches. If a third-party system goes down or gets compromised, there should be a clear, immediate action plan.
Hospitals can’t function without vendors but trusting them blindly is a risk no one can afford.
Every third party with access to patient data or critical systems is a potential entry point for an attack. Healthcare providers need to hold vendors accountable, enforce stronger security, and start treating third-party risk like what it really is - patient safety.