US health care breaches impact over 6M people so far in 2022

More than 6 million individuals have been impacted by 127 health care data breaches across the US so far this year, with nearly 1.5 million people affected by breaches last month alone, HealthITSecurity reports. Data from the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights data breach portal revealed that 27 of the 30 breaches in March were prompted by hacking or IT incidents, while unauthorized access or disclosure triggered the remaining incidents. While the number of business associate breaches dropped from 14 in January and five in February to only three in March, monthly health plan breaches held steady at six throughout the first three months of the year. South Denver Cardiology Associates accounted for the most number of individuals impacted by a breach in March at 287,652, making it the fourth most significant health care breach so far this year, following Broward Health, Morley Companies, and the Monongalia Health System, according to OCR data.