New Study: Push to EMRs Puts Patient Privacy at Risk
70 percent of  hospital security pros say sr. mgmt. fails to prioritize privacy and data security
Mitch Wagner’s  Information Week Healthcare story on October 20, 2009 was sub-headlined “Healthcare IT managers say their organizations aren’t adequately protecting electronic health records, survey says.”

Per the orginal October 20, 2009 press release from LogLogic, sponsor of  “Electronic Health Information at Risk: A Study of IT Practitioners,” produced by Ponemon Institute, a privacy and information management research firm, survey results showed:
–”70 percent say senior management does not view privacy and data security as a priority;
–”53 percent say their organization fails to take appropriate steps to protect the privacy rights of patients while less than half judge their existing security measures as ‘effective or very effective’; and,
–”The average cost of a data breach, per patient record, exceeded $210 per compromised record, creating an opportunity for organized computer crime rings to traffic in stolen medical records.”

“Electronic Health Information at Risk: A Study of IT Practitioners”
Press release
Study Download (registration required)