HOUSTON – Memorial Hermann, St. Luke’s, the Houston Health Department and Oak Bend Medical Center, are among the local healthcare systems hit by cyberattacks in 2022, potentially putting patients at risk by exposing their protected health information.
According to an Annals of Internal Medicine study, social security numbers are taking in more than 70% of hospital data breaches.
“Social security number? That’s not necessary,” said Jack Zhang, Ph.D. at the University of Houston.
Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Science and Technology.
Unless they want to track you down if a billing issue arises, Zhang said healthcare providers don’t really need your social security number.
The research he’s conducting focuses on developing techniques to ensure cyber system reliability.
Before you put your personal information on a medical form, ask why the health care facility requires the SSN, if the information is encrypted, and do they have a secure database.