How would you like it if you went to the emergency room for psychiatric services and that information ended up online along with your diagnosis, treatment and bill? This happened to 20,000 Stanford emergency room patients. According to an article in the New York Times, the information showed up on a website and remained there for a year. Not all of those patients were psychiatric patients, but it doesn’t matter what the diagnosis for those patients was, I am sure not one of them wanted the information posted online.
According to security expert Linda Criddle:
“In an environment where no data is compromised and where patient privacy was assured, the benefits of instant access to complete, accurate, medical records are obvious. Treatment errors could be reduced, tests could be streamlined, communication and collaboration between multiple care providers could be optimized, and emergency room physicians could have immediate access to the medications and allergies of incoming patients…
Instead, we live in a world where cybercriminals consider medical records a golden goose, enabling millions of dollars in revenue from false billing. A world where the threat of blackmail over potentially embarrassing medical information or more innocent forms of exposure may induce patients to withhold important information from their care providers, and where medical histories, falsified by criminals to procure prescription medications, may in fact harm, even kill, patients as doctors assume the information is accurate. Until data went online, medical record theft was restricted to people breaking into a doctor’s office or disgruntled employees.”[1]
Until our health records are secured by the medical industry, it is up to us (the consumer) to keep a watchful eye on our medical identity, just like we do on our financial and social identity. Here are some ways that you can minimize or at least stay on top of medical breaches of your identity:
-Watch for medical bills that you did not incur, this also includes checking your credit report.
-See this publication for the signs that you may be a victim of Medical Identity theft.
-Click here for your medical record rights by state.
-If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, such as a doctor will not give you a copy of your medical records, file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights here
-Visit The Medical Identity Theft Information Page and Mitigating Medical Identity Theft if you think your medical identity has been stolen.
Stay safe out there!
Tracy
By: Tracy Mooney
