In 2021, the share of residents whose protected health information was exposed in a data breach was 10 percent or more in 22 states, according to a March 23 Politico report.
Politico analyzed more than six years of data reported to HHS' data breach reporting portal through March 18. Here are four more findings from their analysis:
- Healthcare organizations in every state except South Dakota reported data breaches in 2021.
- Nearly 50 million Americans had their protected health information breached in 2021, a threefold increase in three years.
- In five states and Washington, D.C., more than 40 percent of residents had their health data breached in 2021. The states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Wisconsin.
- Hacking accounted for 74 percent of all healthcare data breaches in 2021, up from 35 percent in 2016.