Avoid Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft can happen to anyone and has been identified as one of the quickest growing crimes in the nation. The knowledge available on the range, depth, and extent of medical theft is still somewhat limited. Medical identity theft is bad for the healthcare system because it interrupts your medical care and waste taxpayer’s money. Let’s take a look at what medical theft is and some ways to help prevent it from happening to you.

What is medical identity theft?

Medical identity theft is when someone else other than yourself uses your personal medical health information. The types of materials that can be used during a medical theft are insurance information, social security number, health care file, or medical records. This usually happens without your knowledge and consent to receive the medical services or to bill false claims for medical care the other person received.

Tips to prevent medical identity theft

Medical identity theft can be a devastating experience. Protect your personal medical information by considering implementing some of these strategies below:

• Don’t give out unnecessary information. If the front desk office asks for photocopies of your driver’s license of credit card, ask why it is needed and how it will be discarded. Most of the time it is not necessary to receive the medical service. Also, don’t share your personal medical information such as your health insurance information and social security number with anyone unless you understand how it will be used, shared, and kept safe.
• Regularly check your medical bills and statements to monitor for unusual charges and report the questionable charges immediately to your healthcare provider. You can also double-check your explanation of benefits or EOB. You will receive an EOB every time you have an doctor’s visit and pay using your insurance. The EOB will document the services you got and which insurance you used to cover the payments.
• Be aware of how you dispose of your personal information. You should always shred your sensitive information. Some examples are: health insurance forms, prescriptions and physician statements, labels from the pharmacy, old medical records, and medical bills and statements.
• Sign up for identity theft protection. These services help by monitoring your personal information like your medical data and insurance and assist you in the event you become a victim of medical identity theft.
• Request copies of your medical records to monitor. Similarly to ordering a credit report to check your credit, your medical records can be ordered and checked for errors. You should review your medical records periodically for irregularities or for anything that looks suspicious. Call your health insurer as soon as possible to speak with the fraud department.

How can we help?

Order Medical Records can assist you in obtaining a copy of your medical record. Our team of experts will quickly work with your provider to seamlessly get you a copy. You can start the process by filling out our online request in less than 5 minutes. Don’t let medical identity theft happen to you. Reach out to us today at 714 559-3071!