Researchers from the University of Central Florida in Orlando and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., analyzed data on expenditures by nearly 1,000 Medicare hospitals, as reported by traditional media outlets. The sample included 72 nonfederal acute care inpatient hospitals that experienced data breaches between 2011 and 2014.
In the two years following a data breach, hospitals’ advertising expenditures increased an average of 64 percent, according to the study.
“Efforts to repair the hospital’s image and minimize patient loss to competitors are potential drivers of the increased spending,” the study authors concluded. “Advertising costs subsequent to a breach are another cost to the healthcare system that could be avoided with better data security.”
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