Healthcare Data Breach Statistics

We have compiled healthcare data breach statistics from October 2009 when the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights first started publishing summaries of healthcare data breaches on its website until December 31, 2020

The healthcare data breach statistics below only include data breaches of 500 or more records as details of smaller breaches are not published by OCR. The breaches include closed cases and breaches still being investigated by OCR.

Our healthcare data breach statistics clearly show there has been an upward trend in data breaches over the past 10 years, with 2020 seeing more data breaches reported than any other year since records first started being published.

There have also been notable changes over the years in the main causes of breaches. The loss/theft of healthcare records and electronic protected health information dominated the breach reports between 2009 and 2015. Better policies and procedures and the use of encryption has helped reduce these easily preventable breaches. Our healthcare data breach statistics show the main causes of healthcare data breaches are now hacking/IT incidents, with unauthorized access/disclosure incidents also commonplace.

Healthcare Data Breaches by Year

Between 2009 and 2020, 3,705 healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records have been reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. Those breaches have resulted in the loss, theft, exposure, or impermissible disclosure of 268,189,693 healthcare records. That equates to more than 81.72% of the population of the United States. In 2018, healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records were being reported at a rate of around 1 per day. In December 2020, that rate had doubled. The average number of breaches per day for 2020 was 1.76.

Healthcare Records Exposed by Year

There has been a general upward trend in the number of records exposed each year, with a massive increase in 2015. 2015 was the worst year in history for breached healthcare records with more than 113.27 million records exposed, stolen, or impermissibly disclosed.  2015 was particularly bad due to three massive data breaches at health plans: Anthem Inc, Premera Blue Cross, and Excellus. 

Average/Median Healthcare Data Breach Size by Year

Largest Healthcare Data Breaches (2009-2020)

Healthcare Hacking Incidents by Year

Our healthcare data breach statistics show hacking is now the leading cause of healthcare data breaches, although it should be noted that healthcare organizations are now much better at detecting hacking incidents. The low number of hacking/IT incidents in the earlier years could be partially due to the failure to detected hacking incidents and malware infections. Many of the hacking incidents between 2014-2018 occurred many months, and in some cases years, before they were detected.

Unauthorized Access/Disclosures by Year

As with hacking, healthcare organizations are getting better at detecting insider breaches and reporting those breaches to the Office for Civil Rights. These incidents consist of errors by employees, negligence, and acts by malicious insiders.

Loss/Theft of PHI and Unencrypted ePHI by Year

Our healthcare data breach statistics show HIPAA covered entities and business associates have got significantly better at protecting healthcare records with administrative, physical, and technical controls such as encryption, although unencrypted laptops and other electronic devices are still being left unsecured in vehicles and locations accessible by the public. Many of these theft/loss incidents involve paper records, which can equally result in the exposure of large amounts of patient information.

Improper Disposal of PHI/ePHI by Year

Breaches by Covered Entity Type

OCR Settlements and Fines for HIPAA Violations

The penalties for HIPAA violations can be severe. Multi-million-dollar fines are possible when violations have been allowed to persist for several years or when there is systemic noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules.

The penalty structure for HIPAA violations is detailed in the infographic below:

OCR Settlements and Fines Over the Years

Further information on HIPAA fines and settlements can be viewed on our HIPAA violation fines page, which details all HIPAA violation fines imposed by OCR between 2008 and 2020. As the graph below shows, HIPAA enforcement activity has steadily increased over the past 12 years. The major rise in HIPAA violation penalties in 2020 is largely due to a new drive by OCR to enforce compliance with the HIPAA Right of Access. 11 settlements were reached with healthcare providers in 2020 to resolve cases where patients were not given timely access to their medical records.

How Much Has OCR Fined HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates?

In addition to an increase in fines and settlements, penalty amounts increased considerably between 2015 and 2018. In 2018, the largest ever financial penalty for HIPAA violations was paid by Anthem Inc to resolve potential violations of the HIPAA Security Rule that were discovered by OCR during the investigation of its 78.8 million record data breach in 2015. Anthem paid $16 million to settle the case. In 2020, Premera Blue Cross settled potential violations of the HIPAA Rules and paid a $6,850,000 penalty. and the large financial penalties have continued in 2021, with a $5,000,000 settlement agreed with Excellus Health Plan.

It was expected that 2018 would see fewer fines for HIPAA covered entities than in the past two years due to HHS budget cuts, but that proved not to be the case. 2018 was a record breaking year for HIPAA fines and settlements, beating the previous record of $23,505,300 set in 2016 by 22%. OCR received payments totaling $28,683,400 in 2018 from HIPAA covered entities and business associates who had violated HIPAA Rules and 2020 saw a major increase in enforcement activity with 19 settlements.

OCR Penalties for HIPAA Violations

State Attorneys General HIPAA Fines and Other Financial Penalties for Healthcare Organizations

State attorneys general can bring actions against HIPAA covered entities and their business associates for violations of the HIPAA Rules. Penalties range from $100 per HIPAA violation up to a maximum of $25,000 per violation category, per year.

Only a handful of U.S. states have imposed penalties for HIPAA violations; however, that changed in 2019 and 2020 when many state Attorneys General participated in multistate actions against HIPAA covered entities and business associates that experienced major data breaches and were found not to be in compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule.

Some of the major fines issued by state attorneys general for HIPAA violations and equivalent violations of state laws are listed below.

Attorneys General HIPAA Fines