Modern healthcare demands flexibility to efficiently respond to today's complex vulnerabilities. As networks expand and healthcare providers diversify their services, new risks have surfaced. To respond to this new reality, a new approach to IT security needs to be adopted:

"Healthcare organizations should move from a static approach to a proactive forward-looking approach," said Silvia C. Piai, senior analyst with Health Industry Insights. "Healthcare providers who want to address new security risks arising from today's health services delivery system must adopt an approach that allows targeted levels of protection within a universal security system in the network."

In this study, IDC provides an analysis of results of the IDC Vertical Market Survey carried out in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. The results are based on 174 interviews in the healthcare sector. This study, which analyzes IT security adoption and investment plans, is part of a series of studies that include analysis of IS strategy and budget trends, and analysis of channel selection and customer satisfaction. This book may contain less than 24 pages of technical content.