Posts Tagged ‘ medical fraud ’

Little progress made in the prevention of medical data breaches

Since stricter regulations were imposed in 2009, the healthcare industry’s track record on patient data protection and security has made very little improvement according to the latest study from Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST)1.  The study reports that from 2009 to the first half of 2012, there have been 495 medical data breaches involving 21 [...][ READ MORE ]

Feds seek remedies for medical identity theft

As medical data breaches continue to spike, the federal government is seeking remedies to try and prevent medical identity theft.   Nearly 21 million Americans are at risk of having their medical identities stolen after having their healthcare records exposed in data breaches.1 And that’s just since September 2009, when a new breach notification rule took [...][ READ MORE ]

Three things you should never do to identity theft victims

Medical identity theft is no longer some obscure phrase spoken primarily in data security circles. It’s quickly becoming a household term for millions of Americans who’ve become a victim or know someone victimized by identity theft. In fact, 90% of the respondents in a recent study knew the definition of medical identity theft this year, [...][ READ MORE ]

Vigilance is still the best medicine for avoiding medical identity theft

  The latest Ponemon Institute Medical Identity Theft survey reflects the classic good news, bad news scenario. The good news is that more consumers understand how medical identity theft happens, and the importance of checking healthcare invoices and records for accuracy. The bad news is that the victim count has hit an all-time high (nearly [...][ READ MORE ]

Healthcare breaches & fraud are here to stay

Don’t expect medical breaches and healthcare fraud to drop off the radar anytime soon. Here’s why. First, the number of breaches in the industry is still escalating. In 2011, healthcare breaches occurred 32% more frequently than in 2010.1 Second, the profitably of medical records on the black market is high – 192% more profitable than [...][ READ MORE ]

Medical and mobile: Convenience trumps security

Say goodbye to bulky manila folders. Today’s healthcare organizations are zipping through medical histories and writing prescriptions using mobile devices. But the new found convenience hasn’t been without cost – not just in implementing new systems and tools but in losing data when security measures aren’t implemented too. A recent study suggests that adopting new [...][ READ MORE ]

Where will you be on April 29, 2012?

 Experian will be at the annual HCCA 2012 Compliance Institute conference at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. This conference offers an important opportunity to meet industry professionals with solid credentials in a number of areas related to medical information and data security. Some of the topics to be addressed at the conference include healthcare [...][ READ MORE ]

The RX for medical breaches

It’s no secret that healthcare data breaches are steadily on the rise.  As technology has modernized healthcare, it has also made healthcare more vulnerable to hackers, fraudsters, and costly bad luck (such as when a lost portable hard drive exposes the personal health records of thousands of patients.) The threat is real, so how do [...][ READ MORE ]

A billion dollar crime that needs an urgent response

According to Ponemon Institute’s Second Annual Survey on Medical Identity Theft, we estimate that more than 1.49 million Americans have been targeted by this crime. With an average cost per victim of $20,663 the total national economic impact of medical identity theft crimes is more than $30 billion.[ READ MORE ]

Consumers yawn at healthcare fraud

Today's headlines trumpet yet another high-profile medical data breach, this time through Health Net. This corporate catastrophe reminds us of the increasing hazard of medical fraud, which is the most expensive and time consuming to resolve of all types of identity theft . The second annual National Study on Medical Identity Theft, fielded by the Ponemon Institute provides further insight into this pervasive problem and how it affects consumers.[ READ MORE ]