Home

  • Home
    • » e-Newsletters

Hospitals attempting to prevent ID theft

Healthcare Security Weekly, September 12, 2005

In response to patients' concerns over identification (ID) theft and HIPAA violations, hospitals in Virginia are trying to avoid putting patients' Social Security numbers on ID bracelets, reports the Virginian-Pilot.

Because hospitals need Social Security numbers to process Medicare patients, they are working on a plan to substitute another series of numbers to represent the Social Security numbers.

Until the system's completion, hospitals are shredding old ID bracelets to make sure they stay out of the wrong hands. These hospitals are also trying to make their charts electronic to cut down on paperwork that is easily lost or accessible.

Most Popular