Our mission at Protenus is to advance the science of healthcare by bringing together creative and skilled individuals who are passionate about the security, usability, and applicability of health data. As this information becomes more voluminous, comprehensive, and, as a consequence, more vulnerable, we are building scalable, insightful solutions that address critical issues preventing the efficient, safe, and effective delivery of patient care. 

As the pandemic wreaked havoc on the healthcare industry, the number of U.S. patient records breached by hospital insiders more than doubled in 2020, surpassing a staggering 8.5 million, according to the recently published Protenus Breach Barometer®. 

Though it dominated media coverage, COVID-19 wasn't the only silent enemy healthcare organizations battled in 2020. Amid the chaos of the pandemic, hospitals and health systems were also ravaged by health data breaches, which were up 30% in 2020 compared to 2019. A new trend emerged of at least two data breaches per day.

Covered Entities and Business Associates are well aware of the mandatory requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule and the HITECH Act, but until recently, there was limited specific guidance from HHS and OCR on how to comply with standards or what regulators viewed as appropriate compliance efforts. On January 5, 2021, HR 7898, commonly referred to as the HIPAA Safe Harbor Bill, was signed into law, amending the HITECH Act and providing some clarity for Covered Entities and Business Associates on industry best practices for security. The law requires HHS and OCR to provide certain incentives for best practice cybersecurity to meet HIPAA standards.

After the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996, the U.S. Department of Health and Human services estimated health systems would spend about $113 million to achieve compliance — plus $14.5 million annually to remain in the green, Medical Economics reported in 2019. However, the actual yearly costs of HIPAA compliance for institutions may be closer to $8.3 billion.