Unlike a happy, carefree day at the beach with an umbrella drink, a breach of patient information is no fun and can be just short of a nightmare. Data from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) states that in 2023 breaches in the health care sector occurred at the rate of 1.99 per day—and that is just reportable breaches. That is a 37 percent increase in 2023 compared to 2022. Doesn’t happen to optometrists? Just in the past 12 months, OCR data confirms reportable breaches in ten eyecare practices involving over 1.3 million patient records. This does not include the breaches associated with clearinghouses and electronic medical record systems. Fines from OCR for breaches can be staggering. Really bad news? The average cost to resolve a reportable breach in 2023 was $4.45 million. Read More