Despite increased scrutiny and regulation, healthcare providers are still doing a miserable job protecting patients’ data from accidental or deliberate security miscues.
As eSecurity Planet reports, beyond the risk of identity theft to affected patients the rampant data breaches are costing hospitals billions of dollars each year, according to latest report from data security and privacy research firm Ponemon Institute.
Making matters worse, according to the report’s authors, is the fact that most hospitals and other healthcare organizations are aware of their security deficiencies but lack either the resources or the ambition to implement the systems and policies necessary to safeguard patient data.
Thus far, it appears that most providers have yet to take the 2009 HITECH Act to heart and patients and are paying the price in multiple ways.
Data breaches at U.S. healthcare organizations cost providers more than $6 billion a year and despite this expensive and embarrassing revelation, the vast majority of hospitals and clinics still lack both the inclination and resources to make protecting patient data a priority.
The findings, detailed in a new report sponsored by security software provider ID Experts and privacy and data protection research firm Ponemon Institute, were derived from interviews with 211 senior managers at 65 U.S. healthcare organizations.
