“Some CISOs are in charge of ensuring the data and IT security of one hospital, some, that of a health system. But for Heath Renfrow, the CISO of Army Medicine, the scope is geometrically larger. He and his team oversee data and IT security for more than 48 hospitals, 600 health clinics, 121 dental clinics, and 100 veterinary clinics, across the globe. In addition, his portfolio encompasses data security at the Army Material Command out of Fort Dietrich, which engages in disease research as well as for other sites around the globe that do data research. Indeed, it turns out that Army Medicine is the largest single healthcare provider in the world, at least of its type, providing care for the 120,000 personnel in Army Medicine. Renfrow is based at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, and in San Antonio, its immediate area of focus includes San Antonio Medical Center (formerly Brook Army Medical Center). But of course, the team is managing data security at the 48 hospitals and hundreds of different clinics of different types, all around the world.
And though Renfrow has 1,200 cybersecurity professionals reporting to him, that number is relatively quite small in relation to the number of sites of care involved. Renfrow spoke recently to Healthcare Informatics Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland regarding his team´s work, and some of the challenges and opportunities involved…” Read full interview here
