Electronic health records: not private, not safe

In a recent survey of 307 healthcare information-technology managers, Cisco Systems found that investing in database security is the managers’ biggest priority. As hospitals shift into the digital world with electronic records and wireless devices, protecting data is becoming increasingly important.

But the Business Technology Blog also found something worrisome: The survey reported that 16% of respondents had a security breach at their organization in the last six months; 24% reported a breach in the past 12 months.

Wall Street Journal Business Technology Blog: Electronic Health Records Aren't Safe (12 March 2008)

In other words, assuming that this is an accurate sample, there's at least a one-in-four chance that your private health records have been compromised in the last year.