Cybersecurity is bound to be one of the top health IT issues in 2017, as evidenced by the sheer number of data breaches that occurred throughout 2016.
This year's healthcare data breaches affected everything from hospitals to clinics to insurers, exposing millions of patients' protected health information.
Here is a look back at 11 of biggest healthcare data breaches of the year based on number of individuals affected.
Note: This list was compiled primarily based on information from Health Data Management.
1. Banner Health (Phoenix). In the largest data breach of 2016, 3.7 million patients, Banner health plan members and beneficiaries and food and beverage customers and providers were affected. Read more
2. Newkirk Products (New York City). Newkirk Products, which issues ID cards for health insurance plans, including a number of Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, reported a data breach affecting 3.3 million individuals. Read more
3. 21st Century Oncology (Fort Myers, Fla.). In March, the cancer care services provider reported a data breach that occurred in October 2015 and affected 2.2 million individuals, according to Health Data Management. Read more
4. Valley Anesthesiology and Pain Consultants (Phoenix). In August, the clinic began notifying patients, employees and providers of a breach that affected 882,590 individuals. Read more
5. Bon Secours Health System (Marriottsville, Md.). Approximately 655,000 patients were affected after a vendor inadvertently left patient information accessible on the internet. Read more
6. Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic (Atlanta). The clinic reported the breach, which affected 531,000 individuals, this fall. Read more from Health Data Management
7. Radiology Regional Center (Fort Myers, Fla.). Patient records from the center fell off the back of a waste management truck in December 2015. Approximately 483,063 individuals were affected, according to Health Data Management. Read more
8. California Correctional Health Care Services (Elk Grove). CCHCS, a provider of healthcare to adult inmates in the state, reported a data breach after a laptop was stolen from an employee's car. Approximately 400,000 individuals were affected, according to Health Data Management. Read more
9. Community Health Plan of Washington (Seattle). A data breach affected 381,534 current and former members of the health plan, which provides insurance to Washington's Medicaid members. Read more
10. Central Ohio Urology Group (Gahanna). An August cyberattack on Central Ohio Urology Group affected 300,000 patients. Read more
11. Premier Healthcare (Bloomington, Ind.). The multispecialty physician group notified more than 200,000 patients of a data breach that stemmed from a stolen laptop. Read more
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