John Shegerian, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of ERI, the nation’s leading fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company, was a featured panelist last week at the City and State 2019 Health Innovation Summit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.
City & State’s Health Innovation Summit informed health care decision makers, tech leaders and policy experts on the most critical issues and priorities in New York health tech. The full-day event brought insights and perspectives from the leading innovators, investors, payers, providers and policymakers who are driving the digital health revolution. Topics included connected health devices, data privacy, health innovations in New York and more, and included an opening keynote address by Mitchell Katz, President of NYC Health + Hospitals.
As part of a cross-disciplinary panel titled “Data Privacy and Protection,” Shegerian was joined on stage by Sam Solomon, Deputy Counsel, New York City Mayor’s Office of Information Privacy & Mayor’s Office of Operations; and Dr. Ali Lovejoys, Managing Director Digital Health, Government and Public Sector, Ernst & Young, LLP. Jonathan LaMantia, a reporter with Crain’s New York Business, served as moderator.
The experts discussed how digital information in the health sector is increasingly vulnerable to those seeking to do harm, and how the industry and government must keep up with technological developments in order to keep data secure. The ever-changing technological environment, including the development of 5G, new regulations and other innovations, were also discussed.
During the discussion, Shegerian described and shared insights on what types of private and potentially dangerous content can be easily accessed on discarded or even on “secure” devices with the healthcare sector. He also explained key concerns relating to the very real threat of hardware hacking.
The expert panelists also discussed next steps in terms of data security in the New York health system, and best practices in terms of what hospitals, insurers and other health-related entities can do to proactively provide solutions and work together with government to keep data safe.
“It has been rewarding to share what we know and what we’ve learned with other thought leaders from government agencies and the health sector at this important and vital summit,” said Shegerian. “It is particularly rewarding to discuss the urgent importance of data destruction, protecting the privacy and data of the people in the great city of New York, my hometown. Proper protection of private digital data in the health sector is a hot button issue and these conversations at the Health Innovation Summit have been vital.”
