Spring is sprung, and so are data breaches. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has a very nifty feature of allowing one to search and sort for them. So far in 2012, not including hacking and ‘unknown causes’, medical related data breaches total 61. Some are routine, others are downright alarming. The two largest (only those with SSN–Social Security Number):
- South Carolina HHS, South Carolina Medicaid–19 April: an employee compiled Medicaid beneficiaries data and sent it to his personal email. Estimated breach–228,000
- Emory Healthcare, Emory University Hospital–18 April: 10 backup discs that contained patient information are missing from a storage location at Emory University Hospital. Estimated breach–over 228,000.
- Also see: Emory Healthcare Data Breach in Atlanta Affects 315,000 Patients (eWeek.com)