By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    November 15, 2022
    back pain issues
    Ways to Treat Constant Back Pain
    August 21, 2023
    Latest News
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    More On Wellness Programs To Improve Health and Reduce Costs
    January 25, 2012
    Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
    June 12, 2011
    Study: Risk of Death in Elderly Patients with Dementia Doubled with Some Antipsychotic Medications
    February 26, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Are Digital Medical Records Harder to Protect?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Medical Records > Are Digital Medical Records Harder to Protect?
Medical Records

Are Digital Medical Records Harder to Protect?

McColumns
McColumns
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

The advent of comprehensive digital record-keeping certainly can simplify the medical records process in hospitals. Both recording and retrieving those records is simpler now than when the standard was to request physical copies and then wait for them to arrive via mail. It’s clear that the intersection of health and IT provides ease of access to medical records by hospital personnel and patients. Unfortunately, this ease of access works in reverse.

The advent of comprehensive digital record-keeping certainly can simplify the medical records process in hospitals. Both recording and retrieving those records is simpler now than when the standard was to request physical copies and then wait for them to arrive via mail. It’s clear that the intersection of health and IT provides ease of access to medical records by hospital personnel and patients. Unfortunately, this ease of access works in reverse. Many Americans are victims of unauthorized, illegal access to their private medical records.

8.5% of all data breaches occur in the medical community. In 2015 alone, there were 253 breaches that account for the loss of over 112 million medical records in the United States. Anthem’s hacking incident in 2015 resulted in the breach of approximately 78,800,000 records. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights lists that of these breaches, 1,496 medical data breach incidents (affecting 500 individuals or more) have occurred since 2009.

Sensitive medical information often relates to past and present physical and mental health conditions. These files often include payment information and other personally identifiable information, including addresses and social security numbers.

More Read

HIPAA Marketing Rule Guidance: Better Than Nothing
HIMSS Moving Forward
A Go Live of EPIC Proportions
Top Digital Health Innovations That Will Transform Healthcare
Finding the Solutions to Big Data Security Concerns

A resource that sheds light on the issue of unauthorized access to medical records is the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse site, where you can search for data breaches by organization, year, and type. Worth noting is that these are comprised only of reported incidents. In the vast majority of these incidents, there is little or nothing that patients can do to prevent it. These records are entrusted to healthcare and insurance providers who then face hacking, malware, and other types of breaches.

The 2016 Bitglass Healthcare Breach Report determined that 98% of healthcare data breaches in 2015 were caused by hackers specifically targeting the industry.

The simple truth is that protected health information is valuable in the wrong hands. Interestingly, it is the non-medical information that is typically targeted because it can be used to take out lines of credit and receive other types of services under the victim’s identity. Social security numbers and other personally identifying information is very difficult to protect again once compromised.

The most difficult part of all is protecting your own personal information, because you have little control over it once it leaves your custody. HIPAA privacy and security rules do not protect your information when offshore private third parties operating outside the system illegally acquire your information. Aside from identity theft protection services, there are steps that you can take to protect information that you do control.

  • Avoid posting private information in public places

  • Use strong passwords to secure your data and replace them regularly

  • Read privacy policies and know your rights before you share your information

  • Shred sensitive documents before throwing them away

In most cases, healthcare data is targeted to gain access to your social security number and other personally identifiable information. By remaining vigilant and restricting who has access to your data, you can minimize your risks and maximize the security of your personal information.

Original Post Appears at: http://www.mccauleyscolumns.com/news/why-do-hackers-want-digital-medical-records

TAGGED:cost of data breachdata
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025
a woman giving a key
How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
Health
July 16, 2025
a woman with kinesio tapes on her back arm
How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

Dr. Watson Crunches Complex EMR Data at Cleveland Clinic [VIDEO]

October 23, 2013
EHR deadline pushed back HIS
eHealthMedical RecordsNewsPolicy & LawPublic Health

CMS Pushes EHR Meaningful Use Deadline Back One Year: What It Means For You

January 3, 2014

Why 2014 Should Be a Good Year for Consumer and Enterprise Health IT

December 13, 2013

Healthcare IT: Will 2015 Be the Year of Data Breaches?

February 5, 2015
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?