Healthcare data breaches continue to be an issue for medical practices this year after seeing a 55.1 percent rise in 2020.
Hackers have traditionally targeted large hospital systems, but may see spine and orthopedic practices as softer targets, according to Ernest Braxton, MD, of Vail-Summit Orthopaedics & Neurosurgery in Vail, Colo.
Dr. Braxton recently described cyberattacks as "a cat-and-mouse game with extremely high stakes," and shared how two-factor authentication and other security methods are helping protect patient information at his practice.
Here are seven orthopedic group cyberattacks that affected more than 827,000 people in the last year, beginning with the most recent.
Note: Breaches of protected health information affecting more than 500 individuals are required to be listed on HHS' breach portal.
1. Southern Orthopaedic Surgeons (Montgomery, Ala.)
Individuals affected: 501
Location of breach: Email
No. of physicians: 9
2. The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (Bethesda, Md.)
Individuals affected: 125,291
Location of breach: Email
No. of physicians: 164
3. Nevada Orthopedic & Spine Center
Individuals affected: 50,000
Location of breach: Network server
No. of physicians: 14
4. OrthoAtlanta
Individuals affected: 5,600
Location of breach: Network server
No. of physicians: 37
5. Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine (Cincinnati)
Individuals affected: 2,869
Location of breach: Portable electronic device
No. of physicians: 42
6. OrthoSC (Conway, S.C.)
Individuals affected: 3,000
Location of breach: Email
No. of physicians: 29
7. Florida Orthopaedic Institute (Tampa)
Individuals affected: 640,000
Location of breach: Network server
No. of physicians: 90