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
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: HIPAA Data Breaches Result in Hit to Patient Loyalty and High Costs
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 > HIPAA Data Breaches Result in Hit to Patient Loyalty and High Costs
Medical RecordsPolicy & Law

HIPAA Data Breaches Result in Hit to Patient Loyalty and High Costs

onlinetech
onlinetech
Share
3 Min Read
HIPAA Cloud
SHARE

Another case of stolen, unencrypted laptops has compromised the health data of 729k patients – affecting Medicare patients across six different California hospitals within the AHMC Healthcare Inc. system. Two laptops were stolen from an office with physical security in place. According to AHMC, the office was gated and patrolled by security officers, as well as video-monitored.

Another case of stolen, unencrypted laptops has compromised the health data of 729k patients – affecting Medicare patients across six different California hospitals within the AHMC Healthcare Inc. system. Two laptops were stolen from an office with physical security in place. According to AHMC, the office was gated and patrolled by security officers, as well as video-monitored.

The protected health information (PHI) included names, ID numbers, diagnosis/procedure codes and insurance/patient payments. This incident highlights the importance of not only physical security, but technical security, particularly encryption. While encryption is viewed as an addressable standard (meaning: optional), it’s really considered a best practice, particularly in the healthcare industry.

HIPAA CloudEncryption can be a challenge to implement, especially at the software-level, but using a HIPAA cloud solution with hardware-based encryption is one way to protect data at rest. Watch our data encryption video, Challenges to Encrypting Data that explains the many challenges to encrypting data and the best practices of data security. The effects of a data breach can be costly, and a new survey shows that two-thirds of U.S. adults refuse to return to a business if their personal information was stolen.

More Read

Should Step Therapy and Prior Authorization Be Outlawed?
Unnecessary Regulations that Increase Prescription Drug Costs
Democracy Comes to Healthcare
BioPharma Beat: Incremental Innovation Is Sometimes What the Doctor Needs
Should We Die Like Doctors Do?

Conducted by Harris Interactive and Cintas, the survey asked which types of organizations they would stop doing business with in the event their data was compromised – banking, healthcare and lawyers were the top contenders. Forty percent said they would get a new doctor, while 35 percent said they wouldn’t return to their hospital.

This doesn’t bode well for hospitals and healthcare systems that don’t encrypt their data, and take other security risks. Compliance doesn’t always equate with security, so conducting a thorough risk assessment could help find vulnerabilities and save a potential loss of consumer loyalty in the future. For a primer on the technical aspects, read our HIPAA FAQ or download our HIPAA compliant hosting white paper.

Not only does a healthcare organization lose out on patient loyalty, but the per capita cost of a data breach happens to be 71 percent higher for healthcare than the average across all industries, as you can read more about in the article 2013 Healthcare Data Breaches Cost 71% More Than The Average Data Breach.

TAGGED:HIPAApatient dataPrivacy
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Epidemiological Health Benefits
Personal and Epidemiological Health Benefits of Blood Pressure Management
Health
October 13, 2025
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries: What Families Need to Know
Policy & Law
October 10, 2025
Remote Monitoring touchpoints
Remote Monitoring Touchpoints Patients Will Actually Follow
Technology
October 9, 2025
dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025

You Might also Like

EHR
DiagnosticseHealthHealth ReformMedical InnovationsMedical RecordsTechnology

Why EHRs are Key to Better Clinical Data

April 29, 2014

Clinical Documentation Improvement: Why Care About Synoptic Reporting?

October 19, 2014

How Do Nurses Stack Up? [INFOGRAPHIC]

September 15, 2014

Mobile Health Around the Globe: Good work in Africa; Cell Phones Improve Health Education in Family Planning.

August 20, 2012
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?