Guest Columnist Susan Jacobs: Medical Identity Theft on the Rise

Our guest columnist, Susan Jacobs, has submitted the following article on Medical Identity Theft.  It’s important to understand that Identity Theft is a particularly nasty way for illegal immigrants to obtain Drivers Licenses,  jobs, credit, and, yes, even free health care.  Also, terrorists routinely steal Identities to finance their “personal Jihads” and to roam about in the U.S. unnoticed.

 

 

Medical Identity Theft on the Rise

As if we don’t have enough to worry about when we’re in the hospital, there is a growing problem of identity theft inside medical facilities. A woman named Katrina Brooke recently told Self magazine’s Richard Rys all about her experience with medical identity theft.

It was actually Brooke’s newborn son whose identity was stolen. Three weeks after his birth, someone used his name, Social Security number and medical insurance in a plot to obtain an Oxycontin prescription. He succeeded with this plan and Brooke quickly received the bill in the mail, addressed to her son.

Luckily for Brooke, this problem was settled quickly and without incident. However, many people are not so lucky. Medical identity theft usually results in endless red tape and a battle with the muddled bureaucracy that plagues the medical industry. Dealing with paperwork and clueless customer service reps isn’t the worst aspect of medical identity theft, however.

Should someone steal your identity and use your medical insurance to receive treatment, your medical records could be dangerously altered. As a result, you may be given the wrong blood, the wrong medication or something else that could result in serious complications. In short, this is a problem that could very well kill people.

Given the fact that medical facilities all over the country are understaffed, it’s no wonder that criminal activity is on the rise. The case of the newborn boy’s identity, for example, probably stemmed from his information being stolen while he was in the hospital. When hospitals have too few nurses, doctors and administrators in the building, malfeasance can occur right under their noses.

How does a person find protection from medical identity theft? One problem lies in bringing personal information into a hospital. Patients should never leave important paperwork, identification or credit cards inside a hospital room, even if the rooms have locking drawers. Far too many people still access to this information. Also, any kind of bill or statement should be secured in the home or shredded if it is being put out with the garbage.

Just as someone must carefully inspect their credit card bills and bank statements, any and all medical bills that come to your house should be scrutinized. If anything seems suspicious, it is best to act as quickly as possible. Not only could you save yourself from losing a lot of money through your insurance policy, in an extreme situation you could be saving your life.

By-line

Susan Jacobs is a teacher, a freelance writer as well as a regular contributor for NOEDb, a site helping students obtain an online nursing degree. Susan invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address susan.jacobs45@gmail.com .

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