Can Your Identity be Stolen from Your Medical Records?

Financial identity theft is, unfortunately, all too common. Armed with a name and Social Security Number, thieves can apply for credit cards, jobs, and mortgages in another person’s name. For the past several years, we have been warned to protect this information, to put fraud alerts on our credit reports if we suspect that our information has been compromised, and to check our credit reports annually to ensure that no suspicious entries have been made. While we have been told to protect our financial identities, there is another kind of identity theft that happens on rare occasions: that of your medical records. Your medical identity can be stolen, and in many cases, it is more devastating than having your financial identity stolen.

Who Steals Medical Identities?

There are several different ways that medical identity theft occurs. Although your medical records are protected by privacy laws, medical employees have valid reasons to access your files. They have to update your information, ensure that they are paid by your insurance company, and they may have to review your medical history. In some cases, doctor’s offices hire the wrong employees, who copy your information and sell it to criminal organizations. Electronic files can be breached as well. When more medical information is inputted into the computer, there is a greater chance that hackers can access this information as well. Wallets are stolen or lost. In some instances, family members have stolen the members of their relatives.

The Devastating Effects

Having your medical identity stolen can be disastrous. First, there are the financial problems that medical identity theft can cause. Hospitals may try to collect the unpaid bills that thieves have racked up in your name. The price of medical services often exceeds the amount of money that someone can charge on a credit card in your name. You may not know that you have been a victim of medical fraud until several years later, when the hospital bills are sent to collections. Because of the laws surrounding medical records, it may be difficult to see your medical records, or you may be forced to pay to have a copy made, sometimes at the cost of $1 per page. Once it has been discovered that someone else’s medical records are mixed in with your own, privacy laws may prohibit you from seeing that portion of the medical record. You may have trouble getting the erroneous medical information in your medical records removed. If a medical identity thief has a different blood type or has a medical condition, your medical care could be affected, if the doctor reviews that information and believes that is part of your medical history.

Fixing Your Medical Records

If your medical records have been stolen, it could be difficult and expensive to fix. If you suspect that your medical identity has been stolen, your first step is to contact your healthcare providers and get a copy of your medical records. You will probably have to pay for this service. Next, you should contact your insurance companies and ask them to send you copies of your “Explanation of Benefits” statements. Check them to ensure that they are accurate. Get a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus. Finally, file a police report if you discover that you are a victim of medical identity theft.