The number of healthcare data breaches has trended upward over the last 14 years, according to a Jan. 4 report by The HIPAA Journal.
The HIPAA Journal published data on the occurrence of data breaches affecting 500 or more individuals at healthcare institutions as recently as Dec. 27, 2025. Here are five takeaways from the report:
1. While data breach incidents affecting 500 or more individuals have been increasing over the last 14 years, 2023 remains the year with 746 breaches, the most on record, according to the publication.
2. There were 546 data breaches that affected 500 or more individuals in 2025.
3. Between 2009 and 2024, 6,759 healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records were reported to the Office of Civil Rights, according to the report. Those breaches have resulted in the exposure of impermissible disclosure of the records of 846,962,011 individuals. That number has more than doubled as of 2025.
4. In 2025, the average data breach resulted in the exposure or impermissible disclosure of about 90,000 records.
5. On average, a healthcare data breach impacted 3,860 individuals in 2025.
