10 Alarming Stats on Data Breach in the Healthcare Industry

As more and more healthcare organizations turn to the digital realm for all of their daily needs, the threat of a data breach on a massive scale becomes even more immediate. While nobody should shun technology out of fear of a hypothetical breach, it's important to understand the situation that you're walking into before you make any type of decision. There are ten alarming stats on data breaches in the healthcare industry in particular that you're going to need to make yourself aware of.

Statistics you should know about Data Breaches in Healthcare

1. A full 80% of leaders in health IT say that their systems have been compromised.

Make no mistake: a data breach in healthcare is an issue that can affect everyone. Statistically speaking, it isn't a matter of "will this happen to me?" It's a matter of "WHEN will this happen to me?"

2. Medical data hacks could potentially include Indiana University employees.

Indiana University's recent data hack not only exposed the private information of patients, but also employees working in and around the organization as well.

3. The Indiana medical software company hack affected an incredible 3.9 million people.

Even so-called "small" data breaches still have victims totaling in the millions of people.

4. UCLA Health's data breach puts the sensitive data of 4.5 million people at risk.

Remember that a data breach doesn't just affect your organization - it affects anyone who you have ever done business with in any capacity.

5. Blues plans offer free and ongoing credit and fraud protection.

More and more companies are offering ongoing credit and fraud protection not as a way to mitigate the risk of a data breach, but to help with disaster recovery in the aftermath.

6. Nearly two-thirds of health IT leaders were affected by a "significant" data breach in just 12 months.

Once again, these shocking numbers paint a picture of an industry in flux and issues that need to be addressed at all costs.

7. Doctors, lawyers and other professionals are still trying to figure out exactly what the legal ramifications are of Telemedicine's data breach.

As if the monetary ramifications of a breach weren't enough, you could be liable from a legal perspective should a breach occur on your watch.

8. Healthcare data breaches are likely the costliest of all.

The type of information that hackers steal during a healthcare industry breach is used to commit fraud, identity theft, purchase expensive equipment to be sold on the black market and more.

9. 24 million electronic health records were estimated to have been compromised between 2009 and 2013.

This number includes the sum total of all breaches across the country.

10. There are an estimated 730 separate incidents reported every year.

That number is only expected to increase as time goes on.