A September 2015 Consero survey of general counsels (GCs) from mid-size to large U.S. hospital and health systems provides some interesting insight into the top issues facing legal departments.

Highlights include the following:

• 94% of surveyed GCs said they are either involved or extremely involved in merger and acquisition activity.
• The top five areas of focus for the coming months were M&A activity (36%); regulations/legislation (35%); cybersecurity/privacy (27%); litigation (24%); and compliance and ethics management (19%). Note: Multiple areas could be selected.
• Cybersecurity/privacy was the top area of risk (39%) followed by HIPAA/HITECH compliance (36%); regulatory changes (33%); False Claims Act (22%) and antitrust risk (13%). Note: Multiple areas could be selected.
• More than two-thirds of respondents did not believe their emergency preparedness plan covers all risk exposure adequately.
• More than one-third of respondents said their health system had experienced a cybersecurity breach in the previous 12 months.

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