<h1>Medical Identity Theft in Healthcare</h1>
<p><em>Publication Date: March 2010<br />
</em><em>Original Appearance: <a href="http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/publications-medical-identity-theft-in-healthcare">Medical Identity Theft in Healthcare</a><br />
</em></p>
<p>While identity theft is a global issue that garners much media  attention, most do not realize that medical identity theft is a serious  and growing threat. Many authorities consider medical identity theft one  of the fastest growing crimes in America. With the digital age of  healthcare upon us, the risks are expected to increase as electronic  medical records become more prevalent and the exchange of this data over  expanding networks becomes more pervasive. Heightened concern over  personal data security and privacy highlight the importance of having  secure electronic medical identities.</p>
<h2>1.5 Million Victims of Medical Identity Theft</h2>
<p>According to a recent Ponemon Institute study, nearly 1.5 million  Americans have been victims of medical identity theft with an estimated  total cost of $28.6 billion &ndash; or approximately $20,000 per victim. [1]  Further evidence of the significance of the medical fraud problem is the  allocation of $1.7 billion for fraud detection in the 2011 U.S. Health  and Human Services Department budget. [2] In 2009, 68 reported  healthcare data breaches in the U.S. put over 11.3 million patient  records at risk of exposure. [3] Two notable instances are the Health  Net breach and the Virginia Department of Health Professions breach.</p>
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    <li>
    <p><em>Health Net</em> (a Connecticut-based health insurance plan)  reported the loss of a hard drive containing seven years of personal and  medical information on about 1.5 million Health Net customers. They  reported the lost drive six months after it disappeared. [4]</p>
    </li>
    <li>
    <p><em>Virginia Department of Health Professions</em> was the victim  of a $10 million extortion plot to expose over 8 million patient  records and 35 million prescriptions. [5]</p>
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<p>Patients whose medical identities are stolen face serious lingering  effects. Fraudulent healthcare events can leave erroneous data in  medical records. This erroneous information &ndash; like information about  tests, diagnoses and procedures &ndash; can greatly affect future healthcare  and insurance coverage and costs. Patients are often unaware of medical  identity theft until a curious bill or a surprising line of questioning  by a doctor exposes the issue. Then, the burden of proof is often with  the patient and it can be difficult to get the patient&rsquo;s legitimate  medical records cleaned up. The consequences can also be life  threatening and can lead to serious medical errors and fatalities.</p>
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