A privacy breach blunder has resulted in personal details of more than 600 females, some as young as 13, who had abortions in the central North Island being given to a reporter.

The data was mistakenly released by a junior staff member at the Lakes District Health Board who was assisting on an official information request made by the newspaper.

The personal medical information from 2011-13 confirms the terminations took place in Tokoroa Hospital, Thames Hospital and Waikato Hospital.

The medical information includes dates of birth, National Health Index numbers, ethnic descriptions, termination details and the suburb in the town where the women live.

The Ministry of Health is investigating and the health board has apologised for the breach.

Lakes DHB chief executive Ron Dunham said it was deeply disappointing that an Excel document containing coded patient information was handed to the reporter.

"Although the women cannot be identified by the coded information released we are taking the situation seriously," he said.

"The DHB is working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Privacy Commissioner. I understand the concern this will cause for the affected women and I apologise for this."

A full review will be carried out by Lakes DHB supported by the Ministry of Health.

A spokesman at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said those who thought their privacy had been breached could make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner.

The most common feature among reported breaches is human error or carelessness. Nearly half of the reported data breaches involved physical information sent to the wrong entity or sent out in the wrong form, and a significant variety of email error events.

Last year former justice minister Judith Collins said mandatory reporting of data breaches to the Privacy Commissioner were being considered as part of Privacy Act review and overhaul.

Advances in technology since the Privacy Act was enacted in 1993 had dramatically changed how personal information was collected, stored and shared by businesses and government agencies. The reforms would put the onus on information holders to identify and address risks before they occurred, Collins said.

"Large amounts of personal information are now stored online and transmitted digitally - this has benefits, but also poses potential risks. It's now possible for huge amounts of data to be released in a single privacy breach, potentially affecting large numbers of people."

Figures from the Privacy Commission show breaches have been on the rise in the past six years.

A dedicated helpline has been set up by Lakes DHB for people concerned their privacy may have been breached. Anyone with concerns can call 0800 525 371.