As health records and medical billing practices become increasingly digitized, there are many advantages that accompany the switch – and also many undeniable drawbacks. One of the biggest dangers that has recently started gaining visibility is the unfortunate phenomenon of medical identity theft.
Medical identity theft can take several different forms. Perpetrators may obtain the names and social security numbers of victims and use the information to receive emergency medical care. Stolen insurance information, including member ID and policy number, can also be used by thieves. And in the final, and perhaps most alarming, type of medical identity theft, medical office employees steal personal data from patients via the office’s computer system and sell the information on the black market. In one notorious case, a clerk at a Florida clinic made over two million dollars by stealing the records of over 1,100 different Medicare patients.
Critics point to a lack of sufficient digital safeguards as the main cause of the increasing incidence of this type of medical-related identity theft. And, with President Obama’s planned push to digitize all health records over the next few years, the system may need a complete overhaul in order to prevent future problems.
