8 best ways to keep your practice safe

In January, the Change Healthcare breach froze claims clearinghouses nationwide, forcing many small practices to dip into personal reserves just to meet payroll and reminding administrators that a single ransomware attack can grind revenue cycles to a halt. HHS now estimates 130 million patients were affected, making it the largest health-care data breach on record.

Spring brought a different kind of threat: measles. The CDC has logged 1,088 confirmed cases and 14 separate outbreaks so far in 2025, and has urged ambulatory clinics to tighten screening and isolation protocols. A drop in vaccination rates means even a routine well-visit can expose unprotected staff and patients to airborne pathogens.

Meanwhile, a series of violent incidents in emergency departments and outpatient clinics—punctuated by an April assault that left two primary-care workers hospitalized—has accelerated Congressional momentum behind the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. An Axios report notes that health-care employees are already four times likelier to face on-the-job assaults than workers in other industries.

Cybercriminals, vaccine-preventable diseases and physical violence may seem like unrelated hazards, but they share one lesson: safety can’t be a once-a-year checklist. It must be woven into everyday workflows, budgets and conversations. The eight action items below, grounded in recent Physicians Practice coverage, offer a step-by-step blueprint.