The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released an educational document and press release on medical identity theft directed at healthcare providers and health plans. The document addresses:
• How someone would discover he or she is a victim of medical identity theft
• What a healthcare provider or plan should do upon learning that a patient has been a victim of medical identity theft
• What a provider or plan should tell a patient about his or her rights if victimized by medical identity theft
• How to help patients deter, detect and defend against medical identity theft
In the process of answering these questions, the FTC references federal statutes that could affect how a provider responds to a report of medical identity theft, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act and HIPAA. The FTC will provide copies of the brochure free to practices or allow practices to adapt it for their Web sites or newsletters.
Though the document addresses medical identity theft, it does not address the Red Flags Rule, a regulation that requires creditors of covered accounts to maintain identity theft prevention programs. The question of whether physicians and their practices should be included in the definition of a creditor subject to that rule remains an issue.
Dallas L Alford IV, CPA is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of North Carolina and owner of Atlantic Financial Consulting, a consulting firm that provides comprehensive medical billing services, practice management consulting, coding audits, Medicare compliance, Medicare RAC support and other general medical practice consulting services.
To learn more about Atlantic Financial Consulting you may visit their website at http://atlanticfinancial.us or contact Dallas L Alford IV, CPA directly at 1 888-428-2555, Ext. 200.
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