Believe it or not: 94% of healthcare organizations have leaked patient data by overlooking the simplest solutions.

There are simple and clear preventative solutions that put safety first, breaches happen too easily and too frequently, with large price tags.

The Ponemon Institute surveyed 80 healthcare organizations and it’s clear many are still not taking adequate steps to protect themselves. These breaches are due to 3 major causes:

1. lost or stolen computing devices; Colorado Neurodiagnostics notified an unknown number of patients of a data breach after a laptop was stolen.
2. employee mistakes; Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego had to notify the parents of over 200,000 children that they had accidentally emailed their information to four job applicants.
3. 3rd party errors; 1.3 million people’s information from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services had compromised information when hackers gained access to their computer.

Yet, it’s not hard to protect yourself from data breaches. These solutions can be simple, and anyone can do it. Steps such as: making sure your phone has a password lock, or locking your laptop when you walk away for even just a minute can prevent possible breaches. Entering the email last so you don’t accidentally send the wrong information to the wrong person. Educating people on HIPAA and consequences of health data breaches can create awareness on this issue.

Why are data breaches so serious?  And what types are personal information are being made public. These questions answered and more, next week.

Source:
1. Ponemon Institute: “Ponemon Study Shows the Cost of a Data Breach Continues to Increase” http://www.ponemon.org/news-2/23
2. iHealthBeat: “Health Entities Across U.S. Report Data Breaches Affecting Millions” http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2014/6/25/health-entities-across-us-report-data-breaches-affecting-millions
3. naked security: “Report: 94% of US hospitals suffered data breaches, and 45% had quintuplets” http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/03/hospital-data-breaches/
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