Report: Medical Identity Theft – The Information Crime that Can Kill You

This report discusses the issue of medical identity theft and outlines how it can cause great harm to its victims.

THE DANGEROUS IMPACT OF MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT
MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT, THE CRIME THAT HAS HIDDEN ITSELF ALL TOO WELL
THE VICTIMS’ PERSPECTIVE: LACK OF RECOURSE, LACK OF RIGHTS, AND LACK OF HELP
ELECTRONIC RECORDS, HEALTH NETWORKS, AND THE CHALLENGES MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT BRINGS TO BOTH MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS ARE FALLING THROUGH GAPS
BACKGROUND OF THIS REPORT
FINDINGS
RECOMMENDATIONS

-DATA BREACHES AND MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT
-THE NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK AND MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT
-CURRENT AUDIT SYSTEMS DO NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM
-DIGITAL SECURITY ISSUES IN THE NHIN AND OTHER HIGHLY DIGITIZED, VIRTUALIZED ENVIRONMENTS
-PHYSICAL SECURITY ISSUES IN A MEDICAL ENVIRONMENT

Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses a person’s name and sometimes other parts of their identity – such as insurance information or Social Security Number– without the victim’s knowledge or consent to obtain medical services or goods, or when someone uses the person’s identity to obtain money by falsifying claims for medical services and falsifying medical records to support those claims.

STATISTICS SPECIFIC TO MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT
Federal Trade Commission Medical Identity Theft Complaints
Social Security Administration/Office of Inspector General (SSA/OIG) Hotline Data
FTC 2003 Identity Theft Survey
Identity Theft Resource Center 2003 and 2004 Survey
Number of Prosecutions
Conclusions regarding the medical identity theft indicators
BACKGROUND: GENERAL STATISTICS ON IDENTITY THEFT
BACKGROUND: GENERAL STATISTICS ON HEALTH CARE FRAUD
Hotline Statistics
Referrals the Inspector General’s Office of HHS took Some Form of Action On