3M patient records breached in Q2: 6 things to know

Julie Spitzer -

Nearly 3.14 million patient records were breached during 142 incidents disclosed during the second quarter of 2018, according to a Protenus report.

The report, part of the "Protenus Breach Barometer" monthly series, analyzed healthcare breaches reported to HHS or disclosed to the media from April through June 2018.

Here are six things to know:

1. May was the worst month for healthcare data breaches, with 50 incidents disclosed, affecting 1.87 million patient records.

2. Nine out of every 1,000 employees breached patient privacy, with snooping on family members the most common insider threat (71.4 percent).

3. Most incidents (36.62 percent) were the result of hacking, while 30.99 percent resulted from insider error or wrongdoing and 16.20 percent resulted from loss or theft.

4. Twenty-three of the disclosed breaches, or 16 percent, involved paper records.

5. The majority of breaches reported during the second quarter hit healthcare providers (76.37 percent), followed by health plans (10.91 percent) and business associates or vendors (5.45 percent).

6. It took an average of 204 days for an organization to discover a breach, with one incident taking nearly four years to be discovered.

To access Protenus' complete report, click here.

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