Why Healthcare Data Breaches Are a C-Suite Concern
Forbes - Eric Savitz - December 7th, 2012
Healthcare data breaches have become an everyday disaster. Ninety-four percent of healthcare organizations surveyed in the newly released Ponemon Institute study, Third Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy & Data Security, suffered at least one data breach during the past two years. What’s more, 45 percent of organizations experienced more than five data breaches each during this same period.
The challenges to maintaining the privacy of confidential patient data continue to grow as more and more of this information is being entered into new electronic systems, as mandated by government regulations.
No cure exists for data breaches. Data breaches have entrenched themselves into the fabric of everyday business – like a bacteria – and these risks must be addressed at the highest levels. We believe healthcare organizations should restructure the information security function to report directly to the board. This would symbolize a commitment to data privacy and security, opening executives’ eyes to the real, constant, and costly threats
