According to a new study hospitals are struggling to protect patient information and data breaches cost the health care industry $6 billion annually.

The survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute included 65 health care organizations.   Of the 65 surveyed, an alarming 60 percent of respondents said they have suffered more than two breaches in the past two years.

The top three causes of breaches were unintentional employee action, lost or stolen computing devices and third-party accidents. The average number of lost or stolen records per breach was 1,769.

The survey found that breaches have cost the U.S. health care system $12 billion over the past two years. The economic impact of a data breach was approximately $2 million per organization over a two-year period.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act, passed as part of the 2009 economic stimulus bill, is intended to strengthen the protection of identifiable health information by expanding the scope of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations.

The majority of survey respondents said they do not believe the new regulation has significantly changed the management practices of patient records.

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