Three Pillars For Secure Hospital-At-Home Care

InnovationThree Pillars For Secure Hospital-At-Home CareByPulak De,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)Jun 04, 2026, 07:00am EDTPulak De, Information Security & Risk Management Leader at Cardinal Health. getty​​The Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) program from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allows approved hospitals and healthcare organizations to deliver hospital-level care in patients’ homes. As part of AHCAH, certified hospitals can offer services like in-home nursing, virtual doctor visits, continuous health monitoring with wearables and delivery of medicines and tests, while also providing transfers back to the hospital when needed.With the program extended through September 2030, regional healthcare providers have a multiyear window to grow home-based care while also reducing hospital stays.However, moving hospital-level care into people’s homes has created several security challenges: Home Wi-Fi is often unsecured, internet connections can be unreliable, everyday personal smart devices are common, and many tools come from overseas vendors. These factors have created cyber threats such as ransomware attacks through home devices, theft of sensitive protected health information (PHI) and risks for safely storing genetic data used in precision medicine. Meanwhile, rural clinics with limited or no information security teams are at risk of disruptions that could affect patient safety. Through my experience implementing healthcare risk management strategies to improve hospital-at-home (HaH), remote patient monitoring (RPM), wearables and precision medicine programs, I've established a security framework based on three pillars: data interoperability, strong data governance and edge computing.​​​​1. Data Interoperability: Securing Data Flow ​​As mentioned above, the flow of p...