Study analyzes numbers, trends in health care data breaches nationwide
September 25, 2018, Massachusetts General Hospital
Health plans—entities that cover the costs of medical care—accounted for the greatest number of patient records breached over the past seven years, according to an analysis of U.S. health care data conducted by two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physicians. Their report, published in JAMA, examined changes in data breaches during a period when electronic health records were being widely adopted across the country. While the largest number of data breaches took place at heath care providers—hospitals, physician offices, and similar entities—breaches involving the greatest number of patient records took place at health plans.
Lead author Thomas McCoy, MD, director of research at the MGH Center for Quantitative Health, says, "While we conduct scientific programs designed to recognize the enormous research potential of large, centralized electronic health record databases, we designed this study to better understand the potential downsides for our patients—in this case the risk of data disclosure."
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-trends-health-breaches-nationwide.html
