| | |  Technology News | March 2009 
U.S. Erecting Barriers to ID Theft
 Antonio Olivo - Chicago Tribune
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This spring, US health-care providers must install new safeguards against identity theft that federal regulators say can help control rising health costs and protect against potentially fatal information that has corrupted thousands of medical records.
"Say someone uses my health insurance to obtain care; I'm diabetic; they're not. Suddenly my records are corrupted because they've received treatment that would be inconsistent with the treatment that I'd expect in my medical condition," said Betsy Broder, an assistant director at the Federal Trade Commission, which will oversee the new "red flags rule" that also applies to banks and other creditors.
The measures could include using staff to screen new patients and track down victims to ensure their records are accurate, Broder said. A hospital's strategy should depend on its risk for identity theft, she said.
The American Medical Association and other physicians' groups are against the rule, arguing that it could dissuade some patients from seeking emergency care and make a doctor's visit too cumbersome for others.
"That's part of the thoughtful dialogue that needs to go on: What will be the downstream implications for our patients and for people who need health care?" said Dr. Ardis Dee Hovin, secretary of the AMA's board of trustees, which hopes to delay the rule.
Eric Schwarz, a lawyer for Iowa Health System, which oversees the Trinity Regional Health System that Mariana de la Torre used, said the rule will require cooperation with local police, which could compromise sensitive patient information.
Another question is whether the monitoring system will be taken seriously, Schwarz said.
"We have no further information to see who is going to enforce it and who is going to inspect to see if we do it," he said. |
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