$9.8M Per Health Breach. Your Data is Next. Do you believe your medical records are safe? The doctor says, “Yes.” So does the hospital and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 1996). The Blockchain keeps it safe. The Criminals who stole 276 million patient records (altogether) in 2024 disagree and put money in their pockets. (2.) (Sources are listed below.)
This page will do three things. It shows you the data problem and why it is worse than you think. And it shows what is being done about this situation.
New to Blockchain? You can start here.
Your Medical Data is Already in Danger
In 1996, the HIPAA system was built for billing and not for you. All of your current data is on a server. The server services the hospital, your insurer, a billing company and even a third-party vendor you don’t know.
This makes it easy for them to share your data with each other. And, like me, you agreed and signed all of those forms while standing at the window and listening to the explanation of each intake form. What happens if the organization that has the server gets hacked? Yes, the technology today can hack your records with the push of a button.
Attacks by Hackers in February 2024
Did you know that the US Healthcare has the most expensive industry for data breaches for 14 straight years? Now, there are instructions for the report of breaches. (1)
When IT was involved in 2024 with Change Healthcare, Inc., the number of people affected was over 190,000 in this single attack. After the 22 Million ransom was paid, the stolen data was still leaked online. There were 12 other instances reported in 2024 from ambulance carriers to pharmacies. Most were IT, but others were from an unauthorized access. (2, table format)
It’s a financial situation. Pharmacy systems went down nationwide (US). Russian-speaking cybercriminals caused a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, Inc. directly. The fallout was a cascade of effects throughout the entire health-care system. Individual patients could no longer fill their prescriptions. (8)
In a story released March 6, 2024 through NBC News, the bitcoin wallet payment of “more than 22 million” was viewed by NBC News and belonged to Alphv. This group also attacked MGM Resorts (2023) and cost the company $100 million. The $22 million that was paid has been slowly doled out in $3.2 million portions. Alphv claims to be “No longer operational.” (8)
Status of Your Health Records
Your medical data has no expiration date. Your stolen medical record can sell for $260-$310 on the Dark Web. A stolen credit card is only worth $25-$30, which can be cancelled. Your record of surgery, diagnosis and Social Security number is permanent, forever and forever. These elements make it dangerous information. (3)
Dangerous because the results may be Identity Theft. Criminals may start credit accounts, false tax returns and loans with your information. They have the possibility of Medical Fraud by using your insurance details. In addition, depending on your diagnosis, they can start Blackmailing you about releasing that sensitive information. And another angle is to twist the information to commit fraud against you and your family. (3)
HIPAA was written in 1996, long before AI existed in healthcare. Today, voice cloning, synthetic identity creation, and AI-enhanced phishing are mass-market criminal operations targeting your medical data. The law has not kept up. The criminals have. (3)
AI Is Racing Into Healthcare. Your Data Is the Casualty.
The race is on. Just how do we approach the race? First, HIPAA is from 1996, four years before the iPhone even existed. It was written 30 years before AI touched the healthcare data arena. This arena was not even a blip on the radar.
Fast forward those years and see what the picture reveals for us. In 2025, we grew to 88 percent of healthcare organizations that use AI in at least one function. The year before was lower at 78 percent. (7)
Pay close attention to this next information. From that 88 percent group, 62 percent are exploring or have adopted Generative AI Tools. They want the accuracy of AI, yet 91 percent of the 100 percent–over that 90 percent mark–they are not ready for this change! This is in reference to ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERS. (7)
No Constant Human Interaction
Let’s look at the 62 percent of healthcare organizations that already experiment with AI agendas. They do this with systems that make decisions or can compile and manage your patient data, WITHOUT any human interaction. This can be used in the clinical setting as a “black box.” A certain score gets flagged, but no explanation is there of how the system came to the recommendation. If A = B, then the recommendation is regurgitated. NO accountability.
That accountability consists of governance, oversight and guardrails. It means the system is one “not approved” and is considered Shadow AI, because it is not approved. Are we behind in our due diligence? Yes.
The result is that over 20 states have introduced AI healthcare bills in 2025. Texas now requires hospitals to disclose when AI is involved in your care. It is effective January 1, 2026. (7)
Your Smartwatch is not Helping You
Where does your data “live” when you use your Smartwacth? Fitbit, bought by Google in 2021, is on Google’s servers and under their terms. In addition, both Apple Health and Samsung Health use the same process.
It’s called proprietary, centralized and owned by them. The “I Agree” gives them permission to share with advertisers, business partners and researchers, legally. And your employer could potentially access your health indicators from wearable data, too.
Nola’s Note–Who actually holds the key to your data?
What AI Changes for Us and Main Privacy Concerns
AI is not the complete solution for Healthcare. In fact, here are the biggest threats that AI poses for all of your sensitive, personal data.
Lack of Consent
The first one is using AI with “Lack of Consent.” This is a core privacy concern. It is expected by the patients that they will be informed when their information is used and what’s being used. “Just how far will that information travel? and Will it also be used to “train” an algorithm?” (7)
ID of Anonymized Data
When a healthcare situation happens, patients know it will be written in their chart. But, the possibility is that the situation may be unique enough that the “AI can identify that anonymized data.” This can happen in the specialized clinics with a small patient population. (7)
Third-Party Sharing
Similar to the “Lack of Consent” angle, we have personal data that is collected, gathered and then provided to a third-party by the AI tool. Make sure your consent covers the “usage of your data collection.” (7) That was a new question when I went for my last doctor visit in April.
This third-party sharing is a definite problem, called “Shadow AI.” It includes vendors, integration tools and cloud platforms that need access to the patient data inside AI. These people or entites work behind the scenes. Your original AI program may not have full control or be even aware of their existence. This is a large loophole in the system, because the third-party entities don’t always have the proper guidelines needed and necessary for patient privacy and security. (7)
Algorithmic Bias and Discrimination
Have you ever written a prompt for an image? If you tell the AI to hang the fruit on the left side of the tree, it will. Well, when you write a program for data, you do the same thing. This is referred to as Algorithmic Bias and Discrimination. With all the variations of personal medical data, the code writer needs to very cautious and careful. Otherwise, the results are uneven predictions, possible treatment recommendations that don’t apply to certain patient groups or even misdiagnoses. It’s impact could be a life-threatening situation for the patient. (7)
So What Is the Answer?
Blockchain just may be the answer. It creates a permanent, tamper-proof record. It can be medical or financial. Once it is recorded, there is no changing, deletion or even being back dated by anyone. The major difference is there is not a single government, company or hacker that controls it.
You hold that private key. It is yours, the data, the rules and lock.
At this time, 84 percent of healthcare organizations experiment with Blockchain. They indicate there is better security and data integrity. This is the top issue for the healthcare field and their reason for using Blockchain. (8)
Nola’s Note–Blockchain shifts who holds the key to your information. Right now, that is not you. It should be.
Resources
- https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf
- https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-statistics
- https://patient-protect.com/post/healthcare-data-breach-statistics-2025-why-medical-records-are-worth-10-more-than-credit-cards
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/substandard-and-falsified-medical-products
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527325001707
- https://coinlaw.io/blockchain-in-healthcare-finance-statistics/
- https://medicalflow.co/blog/privacy-concerns-ai-healthcare/
- https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/cyberattack-change-healthcare-patients-struggle-get-medication-rcna141841
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