Meadville (Pa.) Medical Center began notifying employees Jan. 23 about a data breach within its payroll system, according to the Meadville Tribune.
Cybersecurity
The cost of data breaches as well as the frequency of them has increased over the past five years, according to IBM Security's Cost of Insider Threats: 2020 Global report.
An unauthorized individual pretended to be an executive at New York City-based VillageCare Rehabilitation & Nursing Center to gather information on patients.
An unauthorized third party gained access to some computers at Manchester (Conn.) Ophthalmology and attempted to encrypt information with ransomware.
The number of data breaches that occur annually continues to rise, meaning healthcare organizations and consumers must be vigilant in protecting data, according to nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center.
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A Washington, D.C. District Court Judge ruled late Jan. 28 that sections of HIPAA that are designed to facilitate cheaper access to patients' medical records are not permissible under the Administrative Procedure Act, according to Politico's Morning eHealth newsletter.
Phoenix Children's Hospital began notifying 1,860 patients Jan. 14 that their information may have been exposed in a phishing attack.
Cook County (Ill.) Health began notifying 2,713 patients Jan. 24 that their personal information may have been sent to a third-party vendor who did not have a business agreement with the health system at the time.
A vulnerability in LabCorp's website allowed for thousands of medical documents, such as test results, to be searchable online, according to TechCrunch, which found the flaw.
Although technology companies can bring significant improvements to the healthcare industry, consumers should be wary about potential issues with data privacy, according to business columnist David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times.