Just two weeks ago, a non-profit healthcare provider was slapped with a $50,000 fine from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) for violating the HIPAA security rules, after losing an unencrypted laptop containing the sensitive personal information of 441 patients. This is the first HHS penalty for a data breach involving less than 500 victims.
For small healthcare providers, this signals an escalation in the consequence of a data breach, as organizations will be held accountable regardless of size. A fine of $50,000 is a lot of money for a small practice, especially a non-profit provider.
As we’ve discussed in the past, the average cost per record of a healthcare data breach is $240, which is 24 percent higher than average. As fines become more common, healthcare organizations of all sizes need to make sure patient data is managed appropriately.
A complete prescription...