Providers were reluctant to say exactly how much they pay for these tools, with some simply saying they spend millions of dollars on protection. Costs vary based on the size and scope of a provider. Palmer noted that providers can sometimes save money on predictive analytics tools by outsourcing some or all their cybersecurity to a managed security service provider.

WVU Medicine has seen a reduction in hacking incidents after implementing predictive analytics software, and the tools have brought vulnerabilities to their attention that they may not have otherwise discovered before they could be exploited. Ultimately, leaders weigh defense costs with the cost of a breach, and the costs are high. The Ponemon Institute estimated that healthcare breaches are more expensive than hacks in any other industry, with a cost of $402 per record.

Palmer said predictive analytics software used at WVU Medicine frees up her staff for crucial tasks that only humans can carry out, such as teaching employees how to identify phishing emails and protect their devices and data.

“(The tools) are crucial, because of that ability to be able to take the massive amount of information that individuals would not be able to parse through on their own,” Palmer said. “You can use these tools to streamline processes so that your resources can focus on those top strategic items.”

The tools also help providers prioritize the most serious threats, said Matthew Snyder, chief information security officer at Penn State Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center. Just like clinicians can suffer “alarm fatigue”—dangerous desensitization to the many alarm-equipped devices in a hospital—cybersecurity professionals can become overwhelmed by threat alerts.

“The most important thing is to be able to delineate between what’s the most relevant stuff I need to act on and what is just noise,” Snyder said.

If cash-strapped healthcare providers are already struggling to offer competitive wages for cybersecurity workers, will they be able to afford these sophisticated tools? Some providers are doubtful.

“They’re expensive,” said Kris Kistler, chief information security officer at Centennial, Colo.-based Centura Health. “I don’t think that they’re affordable. The level we have is not going to be affordable to a small practice. They’d have to rely on some other things.”

Kaspersky Lab declined to discuss pricing specifics, noting that costs vary widely depending on client need. IBM said it’s too early to comment on its yet-to-be-released Watson for Cybersecurity platform.

These computer-driven screening technologies were not affordable for 19% of respondents to a Modern Healthcare survey conducted for this special report. Just over a third of 52 provider respondents said they didn’t know enough about predictive analytics, machine learning or artificial intelligence to make installation a priority.

Centura, a 17-hospital system, spends millions of dollars on security and provides protection services to a network of nearly 200 smaller physician offices across Colorado and Western Kansas. Centura’s cybersecurity software protects these networks and monitors them for malicious activity.

Kistler expressed doubt that those physician offices would have had the same level of protection if left to fend for themselves. Medical groups and hospitals often consider cybersecurity costs when discussing the benefits of consolidation or affiliation. “We typically find those smaller practices and smaller hospitals are definitely lacking compared to some of the larger organizations,” he said.

Small practices and hospitals are responsible for protecting patient data just like their larger counterparts, but they struggle to afford tools beyond the minimal protection outlined by industry and federal standards.

But software developers would be foolish to price out smaller providers, since the tools depend on de-identified intelligence gained from threats found in other users’ systems, said Arya Choudhury, chief information officer at Rockville, Md.-based Shady Grove Fertility, which has 35 physicians and 25 offices.