50 biggest data breaches in healthcare

Staff - Updated Friday, August 14th, 2015

Data breaches in healthcare are becoming a more common occurrence, and each one reported appears more severe and far-reaching than the last.

Between 2010 and 2013, healthcare organizations reported 949 security breaches compromising approximately 29 million patient records, according to an International Business Times report. Additionally, data from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research indicate the rate of breaches is on the rise. In 2010, 214 breaches were reported. That number climbed to 265 in 2013.

Healthcare organizations that experience a data breach affecting more than 500 individuals are required by the HITECH Act to report the breach to HHS' Office for Civil Rights. The HITECH Act required organizations to start reporting this information in 2009.

Here are the 50 hospital, health system or health plan data breaches that compromised the most number of individual patient records, as reported to the OCR.

1. Anthem (Indianapolis)

Individuals affected: 78.8 million
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: March 13, 2015

2. Premera Blue Cross (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.)

Individuals affected: 11 million
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: March 17, 2015

3. Community Health Systems (Brentwood, Tenn.)

Individuals affected: 4.5 million
Type of breach: Theft from network server
Date reported: Aug. 20, 2014

4. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp. (Downers Grove, Ill.)

Individuals affected: 4 million
Type of breach: Theft of desktop computer
Date reported: Aug. 23, 2013

5. AvMed (Miami)

Individuals affected: 1.2 million
Type of breach: Theft of laptop
Date reported: June 3, 2010

6. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (Baltimore)

Individuals affected: 1.1 million
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: May 20, 2015

7. Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services

Individuals affected: 1.06 million
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: July 7, 2014

8. The Nemours Foundation (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Individuals affected: 1.05 million
Type of breach: Theft of backup tapes
Date reported: Oct. 7, 2011

9. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

Individuals affected: 1.02 million
Type of breach: Theft of hard drives
Date reported: Nov. 1, 2010

10. Sutter Medical Foundation (Sacramento, Calif.)

Individuals affected: 943,000
Type of breach: Theft of desktop computer
Date reported: Nov. 17, 2011

11. AHMC Healthcare (Los Angeles)

Individuals affected: 729,000
Type of breach: Theft of laptop
Date reported: Oct. 25, 2013

12. Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services

Individuals affected: 698,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: March 12, 2015

13. Georgia Department of Community Health

Individuals Affected: 558,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: March 2, 2015

14. Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage, Calif.)

Individuals affected: 514,000
Type of breach: Theft of desktop computer
Date reported: March 30, 2011

15. St. Joseph Health System (Bryan, Texas)

Individuals affected: 405,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: Feb. 5, 2014

16. Georgia Department of Community Health (separate from No. 13)

Individuals affected: 355,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: March 2, 2015

17. Affinity Health Plan (Bronx, N.Y.)

Individuals affected: 345,000
Type of breach: Other
Date reported: April 14, 2010

18. Emory Healthcare (Atlanta)

Individuals affected: 315,000
Type of breach: Missing storage disks
Date reported: April 18, 2012

19. Touchstone Medical Imaging (Brentwood, Tenn.)

Individuals affected: 308,000
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: Oct. 3, 2014

20. Beacon Health System (South Bend, Ind.)

Individuals Affected: 307,000
Type of breach: Hacked email
Date reported: May 22, 2015

21. Seacoast Radiology (Rochester, N.H.)

Individuals affected: 231,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: Jan. 10, 2011

22. South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Individuals affected: 228,000
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: April 24, 2012

23. Indian Health Service (Rockville, Md.)

Individuals affected: 214,000
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: April 1, 2014

24. Walgreens (Deerfield, Ill.)

Individuals affected: 160,000
Type of breach: Stolen records and hardware
Date reported: Dec. 15, 2014

25. Ankle + Foot Center of Tampa Bay (Fla.)

Individuals affected: 156,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: Jan. 3, 2011

26. Advantage Consolidated (Redmond, Ore.)

Individuals affected: 152,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: March 18, 2015

27. Oklahoma State Department of Health

Individuals affected: 133,000
Type of breach: Laptop theft
Date reported: April 11, 2011

28. Alere Home Monitoring (Livermore, Calif.)

Individuals affected: 117,000
Type of breach: Laptop theft
Date reported: Oct. 18, 2012

29. Crescent Health (Anaheim, Calif.)

Individuals affected: 109,000
Type of breach: Desktop computer theft
Date reported: Feb. 22, 2013

30. Memorial Healthcare System (Hollywood, Fla.)

Individuals affected:106,000
Type of breach: Record theft
Date reported: August 16, 2012

31. NRAD Medical Associates (Garden City, N.Y.)

Individuals affected: 97,000
Type of breach: Hacked computer
Date reported: June 20, 2014

32. Hartford (Conn.) Hospital

Individuals affected: 93,500
Type of breach: Information theft
Date reported: April 5, 2011

33. Jacobi Medical Center (Bronx, N.Y.)

Individuals affected: 90,000
Type of breach: Unauthorized access to email
Date reported: April 28, 2015

34. Patient Care Services at Saint Francis (Tulsa, Okla.)

Individuals affected: 84,000
Type of breach: Desktop computer theft
Date reported: April 6, 2011

35. Providence Hospital (Southfield, Mich.)

Individuals affected: 83,945
Type of breach: Missing hard drive
Date reported: April 5, 2010

36. City of Philadelphia Fire Department EMS Unit

Individuals affected: 81,463
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: April 2, 2015

37. Tennessee Rural Health Improvement Association

Individuals affected: 79,000
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: Jan. 13, 2015

38. Central Dermatology Center (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Individuals affected: 76,258
Type of breach: Malware attack
Date reported: Nov. 7, 2014

39. UW Medicine (Seattle)

Individuals affected: 76,183
Type of breach: Hacked computer
Date reported: Nov. 27, 2013

40. Visionworks, subsidiary of Highmark (Pittsburgh)

Individuals affected: 75,000
Type of breach: Missing computer server
Date reported: Nov. 10, 2014

41. University of Miami

Individuals affected: 64,846
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: Sept. 7, 2012

42. The Neurological Institute of Savannah (Ga.) & Center for Spine

Individuals affected: 63,425
Type of breach: Hard drive theft
Date reported: Aug. 15, 2011

43. St. Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center (Indianapolis)

Individuals affected: 63,325
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: Feb. 27, 2015

44. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Individuals affected: 61,000
Type of breach: Laptop theft
Date reported: June 1, 2010

45. Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center

Individuals affected: 59,000
Type of breach: Hacked network server
Date reported: Dec. 10, 2013

46. Boston Baskin Cancer Foundation

Individuals affected: 56,694
Type of breach: Hard drive theft
Date reported: Feb. 2, 2015

47. Banner Health (Phoenix)

Individuals affected: 55,207
Type of breach: Exposed information
Date reported: March 5, 2014

48. Lebanon (Pa.) Internal Medicine Associates

Individuals affected: 55,000
Type of breach: Improper disposal
Date reported: Nov. 2, 2011

49. Cancer Care Group (Indianapolis)

Individuals affected: 55,000
Type of breach: Stolen hardware
Date reported: Aug. 28, 2012

50. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Individuals affected: 48,752
Type of breach: Unauthorized access
Date reported: Jan. 6, 2014

50 biggest data breaches in healthcare

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