A healthcare information breach, such as a hack or an insider threat, violates the privacy of patients who rely on your organization’s security. Furthermore, depending on the nature of the data breach, your company may face large penalties and other legal implications. With the most recent compliance software, your organization may prevent such breaches or limit their consequences when they occur.
What exactly constitutes a healthcare data breach?
A healthcare information breach occurs when a patient’s protected health information (PHI) is disclosed, shared, or accessed without their written consent. A data breach is unique among non-compliance situations since it involves a violation or compromise of patient privacy.
A data breach can be caused by:
- Physical theft of equipment or documents containing PHI, or information from electronic medical records (EMRs).
- A lost, stolen, or misplaced device that contains PHI or other sensitive data
- When unauthorized exposure occurs as a result of phishing or ransomware, it is referred to as a hacking or IT incident.
- Insider threats, such as when contractors or employees illegally reveal PHI, intentionally or accidentally
- Human errors, such as sending patient information to the wrong recipient.
You should treat any data breach as a significant occurrence, even if you may avoid major consequences, such as an expose that impacts multiple people. A thorough awareness of health information breaches is required to comply with requirements such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The following conditions increase the likelihood of a healthcare information breach:
- Disclosing or disseminating protected health information without consent or necessity.
- Sharing PHI with the incorrect entity or individual.
- An unauthorized person (i.e., a hacker) gained access to an electronic medical record (EMR) system
- An employee looking at a patient’s EMR for no work-related reason.
- Leaving print or digital PHI out in public where anyone can see it.
Prevalence of Healthcare Data Breaches
The number of breaches has risen significantly in recent years. Between January 2018 and September 2023, the number of data breaches in healthcare climbed by 239%. During the same time span, the number of ransomware attacks increased by 278%.
The quantity of healthcare data breaches is not the only cause for concern. We must also analyze the seriousness of a breach, which takes into account the number of people affected. 45.9 million records were compromised in 2021, and 51.9 million in 2022.
Unfortunately, 2024 was a record-breaking year, with 179 million records stolen, exposed, or disclosed without authorization. Change Healthcare, Inc., 2024’s largest data breach, affected about 100 million people and was the most serious breach on record. To put things in perspective, more than 519 million healthcare records were unlawfully leaked between 2009 and 2023.
