There are many medical consequences for victims of medical identity theft ranging from misdiagnosis of invoices for services that the insured did not receive. Ponemon Institute found that 53 percent of survey respondents faced some kind of consequence of the flight. Here is a breakdown of the consequences:
- 15 percent said they were misdiagnosed when seeking treatment
- 14 percent said it there was a delay in receiving treatment
- 13 percent said they received the wrong treatment
- 11 percent said they received the wrong treatment
Even if these consequences are very serious, the most extreme consequence of medical identity theft is death. An example of how medical identity theft can lead to death if the policyholder is very allergic to a drug, but medical identity thief had removed this information from medical records of the insured, as it is not about the thief. If the patient is given that medicine because their medical records do not mention allergy, then the health of the insurance holder, and lives are in danger because of medical identity theft.
The signs that you may have been a victim of medical identity theft
There are some signs that someone has been a victim of medical identity theft, according the Federal Trade Commission. These signs include the bills for non received by the insured medical services, a debt collector asking for money from a business that the insurer is not a notice of health insurance stating that the insured has reached their limit benefits and denial of insurance because their medical record shows that they have a serious illness they have not really. If someone notices any of these signs, then they should immediately report the theft identity.
How to report medical identity theft
When someone realizes they have been victims of identity theft, they need the also treat seriously as any other form of identity theft. That means there are some steps to follow to report this invasive crime. Here are the steps:
1. File a police report - This is an essential step because the investigation of the local police can help reveal any criminal activity that was committed locally and may be related to flight
.2. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission -. This complaint helps the FTC observe the national identity theft trends and begins an investigation that may lead to future lawsuits
3. Report errors to your health care provider - This step is very important ensure that all of your medical information is correct, and the only way to do this is to report and correct errors created by the identity thief
.4. Notify the three credit reporting agencies - Given that sensitive medical information has been stolen or misused, it is safer to also inform the credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - to let them know that personal information and credit could be at risk of identity theft. When someone is a victim of identity theft, they become more vulnerable to fall victim again.
When communicating with credit agencies, it is best to ask a fraud alert or credit freeze on credit reports. A fraud alert is a warning that requires the office to check the identity (by phone) credit support before a new credit account is opened in their name. On the other hand, a credit freeze is an extreme reaction that closes the person's credit, which does not allow creditors to open or access any credit reports.
How to protect yourself against medical identity theft?
Fortunately, there are five steps that consumers can take to protect the victim of this invasive crime. Following these steps can help you prevent or possibly at least catch the crime before it is too late.
1. Protect the health information - Medical information should be treated as personal information - like a social security number or credit card - is processed. Shred all medical documents that are no longer needed and make sure all the medical documentation is kept in a safe place like a safe or safety deposit box.
2. Beware of medical services "free" - Sometimes identity thieves pose as groups or doctors providing free medical services to lure people in by receiving free services and provide the robber with all their medical or personal information. Theses Thieves target especially elderly or sick people because they know that these groups are more likely to have health insurance, generally good health insurance. To protect yourself from this, make sure to do research on free health service providers in advance and, if possible, check the organization of a government website.
3. Review the explanation care very carefully - Whenever a care explanation arrives in the mail, it must be carefully reviewed and the insured must ensure that all care was given to them . If the explanation care procedure includes a visit to a doctor or the insured has not done, the error should be reported to the insurance company.
4. Read the policies of doctors and medical practices to privacy - Some patients forget or do not use their right to learn about the storage and availability of their personal information. Often, patients can find this information in the privacy policy, which the doctor's office must legally provide during the first visit in accordance with the responsibility Insurance Portability and Health Act. HIPAA also gives patients the right to apply a privacy policy at any time. It is recommended to carefully read the privacy policy to ensure the security of your personal information with doctors or medical offices.
5. Ensure that medical Web sites are secure - Each time a website asks for personal information, it is essential to make sure the site is secure. There are two ways to check the security of a site. The first is to make sure that the URL begins with HTTPS because the "S" further confirms that the site is secure. The second sign that the site is secure is if a lock or a color change - depending on the browser and Internet security used - to the left of the URL. As the URL comprises one of these two signs, the website is secure. This blog explains how to check the security of a retail website.
Another way for people to protect themselves against medical identity theft is to have a protection against theft identity services help them out. Both TrustedID IDFreeze and offer protection against medical identity theft by ensuring medical information the member is not sold or traded on the black market on the Internet. Both services also offer a tool that provides members step by step directions describing how to ask their health care files. Check out our full review of TrustedID well as our full review of IDFreeze to learn more about services.