Health Care Information More Valuable Than Credit Card Data For Hackers

Health care information about an individual is more valuable to bad guys than credit card information, according to Xerox’s 2017 eHealth survey.

In a press release highlighting the result of the survey, Xerox said health care data breach incidents are climbing year over year, and patients today understand the risk of their health care information falling into the wrong hands. Xerox found in the survey that 44 percent of respondents are concerned about having their personal health care information stolen.

“It’s clear patients are frustrated by the lack of care coordination and disjointed processes, so much so, that our Xerox survey shows 19 percent of Americans would rather wait in line at the DMV than coordinate between different doctors’ offices to ensure they have all of their records and health information,” said Cees Van Doorn, senior vice president of the health care industry at Xerox, in the press release. “We’re showcasing technology at HIMSS that will enable seamless interoperability, and increases patient satisfaction and outcomes in a secure, compliant manner.”

According to Xerox, in 2016, more than one data breach was reported each day. As a result, health care providers can and are expected to play a big role in protecting their patient’s data. The survey found that more than three-quarters (76 percent) believe it would be more secure to share health care information between providers through a secure electronic method rather than faxing paper documents. What’s more, survey respondents also think better information sharing across providers can help improve patient care. Nearly nine out of 10 (87 percent) think the time it takes to get test results and diagnoses would be reduced if the providers could securely share and access digital patient information from various providers. Eighty-seven percent think the quality of service of health care providers would improve if there was better information sharing and coordination among different providers.