Within September alone, 30 healthcare organizations, including hospitals, private practices and insurers, reported data breaches to HHS' Office for Civil Rights. As of Oct. 4, seven healthcare providers had reported data breaches for the month. 

A regional Veterans Affairs Department in Milwaukee mishandled patients personal data, leaving medical records, internal communications and other information available for unauthorized personnel to access, according to Nextgov.

Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health has mailed patients letters indicating that their financial information may have been stolen, according to local ABC affiliate WLOS.

Milwaukie, Ore.-based Monterey Health Center announced Oct. 11 that it is notifying patients their protected health information may have been exposed because of a ransomware attack.

Healthcare organizations are becoming larger targets for cybercriminals because they don't always have the resources to protect themselves from various cyberattacks.

Tampa-based Women's Care Florida alerted all current and former patients — 528,188 people — that their medical or personal information may have been exposed due to an April 29 cybersecurity incident.

Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System restored services Oct. 10 and lifted its diversion protocol for its three hospitals after being hit by a ransomware attack earlier in the month.

Greenville, Texas-based Hunt Regional Healthcare has notified additional patients of a cyberattack earlier this year that may have exposed patient information, according to the Herald Banner.

A website created by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to track hepatitis infections was compromised, exposing individual's health records, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

CIOs have five key responsibilities upon learning their hospital or health system is experiencing a data breach, according to Patty Lavely, interim CIO and principal consultant for CIO Consulting and former senior vice president and CIO of Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Ga.

It's no surprise that cybersecurity is on the minds of hospital and health system executives as healthcare continues to see a rise in ransomware attacks. Howard Haile, chief information security officer at Denver-based SCL Health, is among those leaders.

Magnolia Pediatrics in Prairieville, La., is working with the FBI and has alerted patients' families of an August ransomware attack, according to The Advocate.

Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System continues to divert patients to nearby hospitals while it methodically restores its systems, according to an Oct. 7 post.

Gary, Ind.-based Methodist Hospitals is notifying 68,039 patients that their protected health information may have been exposed in a data breach.

While ransomware attacks have hit hospitals across the country, internal breaches and human error remain a top concern for hospital CIOs.

The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business unveiled a new certificate program for cybersecurity leaders in healthcare organizations, endorsed by the Texas Hospital Association and two leading healthcare cybersecurity firms.

Over the past two months, ransomware attacks have caused hospitals and health systems to divert patients and even shut down in some instances.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Atlanta began notifying 3,290 patients that their personal health information may have been exposed in a security incident.

Ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity incidents can cause smaller hospitals and medical centers to shut its doors because these providers lack to resources to recover, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The University of Alabama Birmingham Medicine has alerted 19,557 patients that their information may have been exposed in a phishing attack, according to ABC3340.