HIPAA breaches down, compliance is up, OCR reports

HIPAA-covered organizations reported 609 breaches in 2021, down 7 percent from 2020, according to a new report from the HHS' Office for Civil Rights. 

Four things to know about HIPAA breaches and reporting:

1. The most common type of breaches were hacking and information technology incidents.
   
   
2. In 2021, breaches affected more than 37.1 million individuals.
   
   
3. OCR completed 554 breach investigations in 2021.
   
   
4. The OCR also released its annual report to Congress on compliance with the HIPAA breach notification rule, and found that there was a 25 percent increase in complaints alleging HIPAA or HITECH Act violations in 2021.