What is “medical record theft” and why would someone want to steal your medical information? Simple.
The hospital or clinic a person goes to most likely keeps their records on a computerized system called an “electronic medical record” or EMR. What is a thief looking for? Your medical record contains information like your insurance company information, other identity information, financial information, and drug information. The thieves use this information to steal medical services, obtain prescriptions, and maybe even identity and financial information to use in identity theft.
And what if the hospital or clinic shares information with another business partner, such as a consulting doctor?
Recent health care breaches:
- 780,000 medical records stolen from the Utah Department of Health on April 9, 2012. The article stated that the cyber-hackers were operating out of Eastern Europe.
What can you do if your records are stolen? Here’s what the FTC recommends: http://ftc.consumerdev.org/bcp/edu/microsites/whocares/medicalidt.shtm
The FTC is holding hearings on Medical ID theft.
References: SC magazine http://www.scmagazine.com/id-thieves-find-gold-in-medical-data/article/236302/
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