Since stricter regulations were imposed in 2009, the healthcare industry’s track record on patient data protection and security has made very little improvement according to the latest study from Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST)1.  The study reports that from 2009 to the first half of 2012, there have been 495 medical data breaches involving 21 [...]

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Our guest blogger this week is Karen Barney of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). According to one recent study[i], more than 19 million health records have been compromised since August 2009.  As the health care industry moves into the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), medical breaches have become a more significant concern. These [...]

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  The latest Ponemon Institute Medical Identity Theft survey reflects the classic good news, bad news scenario. The good news is that more consumers understand how medical identity theft happens, and the importance of checking healthcare invoices and records for accuracy. The bad news is that the victim count has hit an all-time high (nearly [...]

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Don’t expect medical breaches and healthcare fraud to drop off the radar anytime soon. Here’s why. First, the number of breaches in the industry is still escalating. In 2011, healthcare breaches occurred 32% more frequently than in 2010.1 Second, the profitably of medical records on the black market is high – 192% more profitable than [...]

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Say goodbye to bulky manila folders. Today’s healthcare organizations are zipping through medical histories and writing prescriptions using mobile devices. But the new found convenience hasn’t been without cost – not just in implementing new systems and tools but in losing data when security measures aren’t implemented too. A recent study suggests that adopting new [...]

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 Experian will be at the annual HCCA 2012 Compliance Institute conference at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. This conference offers an important opportunity to meet industry professionals with solid credentials in a number of areas related to medical information and data security. Some of the topics to be addressed at the conference include healthcare [...]

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  It’s safe to say that healthcare data is/are under attack. Breaches of medical records increased 97% from 2010 to 2011 according to HHS data. Statistics like that lend new urgency and importance to gatherings such as the upcoming HCCA 2012 Compliance Institute. Be prepared: Does your organization observe security protocols and have controls in [...]

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Data breaches occur in every industry, but, in healthcare, they’re a whole different ballgame. Black market prices and mobile devices drive data theft and loss. Federal regulations govern breach reporting. With breaches of medical records increasing 97% from 2010 to 2011, the medical field has been especially hard hit. Here’s a look at five factors [...]

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It’s no secret that healthcare data breaches are steadily on the rise.  As technology has modernized healthcare, it has also made healthcare more vulnerable to hackers, fraudsters, and costly bad luck (such as when a lost portable hard drive exposes the personal health records of thousands of patients.) The threat is real, so how do [...]

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As far as data security goes, 2011 was a dismal year.  Relentless, high-profile breaches punctured any sense that hack attacks are a remote threat, and by year’s end it was clear (if it wasn’t before) that protection against security disaster can only come from the most rigorous breach defense. Unfortunately, disaster is exactly what has [...]

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