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Healthcare costs, lack of insurance put Americans at risk for medical identity theft

EHR Connection, April 7, 2008

The results of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) survey suggest that nearly 250,000 Americans may become victims of medical identity theft annually and the risk isn't limited to people with EHRs, according to a Self article posted on MSNBC.com March 13.

The news that you're a victim of medical identify theft often arrives in a disturbing manner, Self reported. One woman received a $94 bill from an unfamiliar health clinic-her three-week-old son apparently had visited the clinic and received a prescription for the painkiller OxyContin for a work-related back injury. Another woman, who hadn't been pregnant in more than two years, received notification that the state planned to take custody of her four children because her newborn son had tested positive for methamphetamines. The thief's information also circulated electronically and intermingled with the victim's information, creating the potential for catastrophic medical error.

Also surprising is that medical identity theft isn't always the result of a lost or stolen wallet or a computer security breach, according to Self. One medical office manager printed 1,100 patient records and sold them to a relative for $5 to $10 per patient. Prosecutors in New York, California, and Florida uncovered a scheme in which criminals would buy a health center, steal information to file false insurance claims, and then close before anyone became aware. A Boston psychiatrist altered records to reflect diagnoses that enabled him to billed insurance companies for nonexistent sessions and treatment. Some Miami physicians sold their provider numbers and medical licenses to a clinic that filed $6.5 million in bogus claims.

The high cost of healthcare and an environment in which 47 million Americans lack adequate coverage provide great incentive and cost the U.S. economy $468 million annually, according to the article.

Click here to read the Self article on MSNBC.com.

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