OR Manager August 2022 - 13

At a Glance
New ransomware threat to
healthcare out of North Korea
The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency, and Treasury Department
on July 6 issued a joint cybersecurity
advisory warning of ransomware
threats against the US healthcare
and public sectors from hackers sponsored
by North Korea, Becker's Health
IT July 6 reports.
The FBI explained the threat comes
from the Maui ransomware platform,
which has been in use by hackers to
target healthcare and public health providers
in the US since May 2021.
Here are four highlights from the advisory
alert, according to Becker's:
* The Maui ransomware, known as
maui.exe, is an encryption binary
designed for manual execution by
a remote actor using command-line
interface to identify files to encrypt.
* It encrypts files with advanced inception
standard 128-bit encryption,
and each file has a unique AES key
and custom header.
* The FBI thinks the hackers are using
the ransomware against healthcare
and public health services providers
because organizations are willing to
pay the ransom to retrieve their files.
* Hospitals and health systems can
implement and enforce multilayer
network segmentation; turn off network
device management interfaces;
and limit access to data to lessen
the severity of the attacks.
For more resources, tactics, techniques,
and procedures, along with indicators
of compromised systems, review
the full advisory report.
-https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/sites/
default/files/publications/aa22-187anorth-korean%20state-sponsored-cyberactors-use-maui-ransomware-to-targetthe-hph-sector.pdf?mkt_tok=NzEwLVpMT
C02NTEAAAGFdFHqaylFOEe_CwYi-76FM10CaMOiDnO9MtJoAOl0IkmegpOZlBCC1Pc0UgTeWrsjy8nvl8Cl4ghdW1GAYwU
Cancer
screening decreased
worldwide during COVID-19
This systematic review and meta-analysis
from Stony Brook Cancer Center,
www.ormanager.com
Stony Brook University, New York City,
and the University of Bologna in Italy,
finds that COVID-19 pandemic measures
were associated with widely reduced
cancer screening services.
Between January and October 2020,
there was an overall decrease of:
* -46.7%, breast cancer screening
* -44.9%, colorectal cancer screening
* -51.8%, cervical cancer screening.
In a geographic analysis, the decrease
in breast and cervical cancer
screening was less pronounced in the
US than other countries worldwide, but
there was no significant difference in
colorectal cancer screening.
The delays in cancer screening were
possibly associated with delayed cancer
diagnosis and increased cancer
mortality, the researchers concluded.
The main factors that may have caused
widespread decrease in cancer screenings
were stay-at-home orders, people's
fear of COVID-19, and the reorganization
of hospital departments.
-https://jamanetwork.com/journals/
jamaoncology/fullarticle/2794149?resu
ltClick=1
Pharmacists may prescribe
Paxlovid to treat COVID-19
The US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) announced on July 6 that it would
alter its emergency use authorization for
Paxlovid-Pfizer's oral antiviral pill that
is being used by some to treat COVID19-to
allow pharmacists to prescribe
the treatment to recently affected individuals
directly.
According to Fierce Pharma July 7,
this adjustment " should ease access to
the COVID-19 treatment, " which entails
a 30-pill regimen taken over a 5-day
span that can only be prescribed within
a 5-day window after those infected
develop symptoms. Those eligible for
Paxlovid include adults and pediatric patients
who are high risk and experiencing
mild-to-moderate symptoms.
" The FDA's decision comes 6 weeks
after the White House pushed for
greater access to the drug...[and] as
COVID infections are starting to rise in
the US " again, the article noted. The
FDA authorized use of Paxlovid in December
2021 after the drug showed
89% effectiveness in reducing the
risk of hospitalization and death from
COVID-19 infection.
However, the American Medical Association
spoke out against the FDA's
decision, saying that Paxlovid " should
only be prescribed by physicians with
knowledge of a patient's medical history, "
noted the article.
-https://www.fiercepharma.com/
pharma/allowing-pharmacists-prescribepfizers-paxlovid-should-ease-access-covid19-oral-antiviral
CMS
physician fee schedule
proposes 4.43% cut in 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) released its Medicare
physician fee schedule proposed rule
for 2023, " which suggests further cuts
to physician pay while inflation and the
cost of running an independent practice
continue to rise, " Becker's ASC Review
July 8 reports.
The proposed rule would decrease
the conversion factor from $34.61 to
$33.08-a 4.43% drop. According to
CMS, this would account for the expiration
of the 3% increase in physician
fee schedule payments for 2022
and the budget neutrality adjustment for
changes in relative value units.
On July 7, Jack Resneck Jr, MD,
president of the American Medical Association
(AMA), said the rule " not only
fails to account for inflation in practice
costs and COVID-related challenges to
practice sustainability, but also includes
a significant and damaging across-theboard
reduction in payment rates. "
The AMA is " reviewing the proposed
rule and will provide detailed comments
later, " Becker's noted. Other provisions
covered in the proposed rule include
expanding access to behavioral health
services, accountable care organizations,
cancer screening, and dental
care, the article concluded.
-https://www.beckersasc.com/asccoding-billing-and-collections/cms-seeks4-43-physician-fee-cut-in-2023.html?utm_
medium=email&utm_content=newsletter
OR
Manager | August 2022 13

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/allowing-pharmacists-prescribe-pfizers-paxlovid-should-ease-access-covid-19-oral-antiviral https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2794149?resultClick=1 https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/sites/default/files/publications/aa22-187a-north-korean%20state-sponsored-cyber-actors-use-maui-ransomware-to-target-the-hph-sector.pdf?mkt_tok=NzEwLVpMTC02NTEAAAGFdFHqaylFOEe_CwYi-76FM10CaMOiDnO9MtJoAOl0IkmegpOZlBCC1Pc0UgTeWrsjy8nvl8Cl4ghdW1GAYwU https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-coding-billing-and-collections/cms-seeks-4-43-physician-fee-cut-in-2023.html?utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter http://www.ormanager.com

OR Manager August 2022

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