Health IT, Hospitals, Policy

Survey: Patients’ concern over data breaches growing

Patients are increasingly troubled about security breaches that involve personal health information, with 45 percent […]

Patients are increasingly troubled about security breaches that involve personal health information, with 45 percent saying they were at least moderately concerned, prompting some to even withhold certain personal information from their doctors, according to a survey from Software Advice.

The number of patients declining to share information, while relatively small at 21 percent, is nevertheless significant, the survey said.

“The results of our survey on patient fears indicate that much work must be done to restore patients’ faith in data security,” researches said. “Practices should strive to create an atmosphere where patients see promise instead of potential risk when it comes to the way healthcare data is handled,”

The biggest fear comes from the possibility of fraud or identity theft, with 47 percent citing that as the biggest reason. Following that was privacy of medical history and a lack of trust in technology, according to the survey, reported in Healthcare Informatics.

In addition, only 8 percent of respondents said they “always” read privacy and security policies before they sign, while only 10 percent were confident they actually understood such policies.

Patients largely said they would switch providers in the event of a data breach, with a combined 54 percent saying they would be “very” or “moderately likely” to change, according to the survey. Twenty-eight percent said they would leave the provider no matter what, while 37 percent would stay if it could be proven that policies and procedures improved after a breach.

And yet, according to another report from earlier this week, only 25 percent of hospitals are planning to purchase more secure systems for data security.

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