Identity Theft-A Compliance Officer's Next Generation of Concerns

Identity theft occurs when a person "steals" an individual's name, social security number, or other personal information and then misuses that information to open new accounts, charge expense, or conduct other fraudulent activities in that person's name. Identity theft is the fas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Health Care Compliance Vol. 6; no. 2; p. 5
Main Authors Orbuch, David, O'Brien, Jenny, Anderson, Lyndsay
Format Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Frederick Aspen Publishers, Inc 01.03.2004
Subjects
Compliance
Employees
Fraud
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act 1996-US
Hospitals
Identity theft
Information systems
Medical records
Patients
Personal information
Privacy
Risk assessment
Security management
Social security numbers
Victimization
United States > US
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Summary:Identity theft occurs when a person "steals" an individual's name, social security number, or other personal information and then misuses that information to open new accounts, charge expense, or conduct other fraudulent activities in that person's name. Identity theft is the fastest growing financial crime in the US. Allina Hospitals & Clinics learned first hand that identity theft can happen in the health care setting, where the access to - and use of - sensitive, personal information is not only common but often necessary. In 2002, a woman employed at one of Allina's hospitals stole social security numbers from patient information cards. Health care organizations are particularly susceptible to identity theft because the social security number is often used as the primary patient identifier on medical records and for billing purposes. Although identity theft is not a regulatory compliance issue, it fits squarely within the compliance program mandate.
ISSN:1520-8303