One in ten individuals living in the United States have had their medical records exposed through known and reported major data breaches by healthcare providers, payers and their business associates. By law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services posts details of PHI breaches affecting 500 or more individuals. This last month alone saw 34 new major breaches in Healthcare (affecting 500 people or more).
10% of Americans have been victim to a breach of their protected health information.
This brings the total number of reported breaches since the enforcement of the HITECH Act in 2009 to 1,055.
According to a recent HHS Report on Breaches from 2011-2012, although these larger breaches accounted for less than 1% of all breaches reported, they accounted for 97% of the individuals who were affected by a breach of their protected health information.
This growth in breaches highlights the challenges that organizations face in keeping data secure.
The list of breaches, also known in the industry as the “Wall of Shame”, can be viewed at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf
