Shocking Stat – 70% of Hospitals Say Protecting Patient Privacy is not a Priority

Patient privacy continues to make headlines in the news signifying an epidemic in security breaches in healthcare organizations increasing over 32% in the past year costing an estimated 6.5 billion annually according to a recent study by Ponemon Institute.  

Last year, a class action suit has been filed seeking as much as 16 million in damages for a data security breach involving the electronic medical records of 16,000 patients at the UCLA Health System stemming from a stolen physician’s external hard drive during a home invasion of his residence.

With the increasing trend of security breaches, the following infographic poses the  question, “protecting patient privacy-how important is it?” When do you think healthcare organizations will make protecting patient privacy a priority?

Check out 2 articles about more recent breaches

• Paper Records More Susceptible to Breach than Any Other Medium – Are You Next?
• Healthcare’s Dirty Secret – 15 Million Patient’s Private Information Exposed Since 2009

Check out the Penalties if you’re caught

•  HIPAA Violations – Your Reputation, Your Wallet, and Your Freedom Are at Risk

How can you protect yourself?

Read these articles and learn why its important to upgrade old systems and software, tips on getting more patients, to increasing security.

•  When was the last time you gave your practice a “checkup”
• Are You at Risk to Be on the “Wall of Shame” for Breaches in Patient Privacy?

Is privacy a concern for your organization?

What are you doing to improve your security at your practice?