Many of us use medical devices to monitor a variety of health issues—everything from sleep apnea to heart conditions—to help keep us safe and sound. What many of us don’t realize is that these devices make us more vulnerable to medical identity theft and healthcare fraud.

Unfortunately, unlike regular forms of identity theft, a medical data breach can have life-threatening consequences. Ironically, the same device that can save a life can also be used by an identity thief to put someone’s life at risk.

So while medical device technology continues to drive innovations in the healthcare industry, we need to be vigilant to prevent identity theft at every turn. Identity thieves are resourceful and just as innovative with their techniques—often striking before the industry has had time to catch up with new security measures.

Identity Thieves Have Their Eye on Healthcare

Personal information is the lifeblood of an identity thief, and nothing could be more personal than your medical information. After all, your medical records can contain even more sensitive information than your financial records, making them prime targets for identity thieves. In fact, while someone’s credit card records sell for about $2.00 on the black market, medical records sell for an average of $20.00. With these financial incentives, it’s no surprise that medical identity theft is on the rise, claiming 1.84 million victims in the U.S. in 2013.

The Risks of Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft occurs when thieves use your personal information and your health insurance to receive medical services. They may have prescriptions filled under your name or attempt to fraudulently bill your health insurance provider to receive a refund. And since they are impersonating you when they receive every medical procedure and prescription, this information is recorded on your own medical history. You’re on the hook both financially and medically, and the results can be disastrous.

Consider, for example, that you have an allergic reaction to a medication. Your allergy has been well-documented in your records so physicians know to avoid it. However, if you suddenly find yourself in a medical emergency and doctors are looking at someone else’s records, they may very well give you medication that could make a bad situation worse.

How Your Medical Devices Put You in Danger

Medical monitoring devices such as insulin pumps, implanted defibrillators, CPAP machines (used for sleep apnea), medical alert devices, and even baby monitors could put you at higher risk for medical identity theft. This is because these devices connect to hospital networks, home health networks, smartphones, wireless connections, and other sources. As they attempt to transmit over these connections, a skilled hacker can intercept the data and access a medical device—and any history or personal information associated with it.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

If you have a medical device, speak with the manufacturer and/or physician that issued it. Find out what measures they are taking to protect your medical information, and how they safeguard the networks that are connected to your device. What are their data encryption standards? What about password protection protocols? How do they respond to a data breach? If they can’t answer these questions, you should consider switching companies and/or doctors.

With threats only expected to grow as we see more advances in healthcare technology, it’s critical that you take a proactive approach to prevent your medical identity from being stolen. Consider signing up for an identity theft protection plan with a company like ID Theft Solutions, the only one managed by law enforcement that restores your identity back to pre-theft status.

As always, you can also connect with us here at The Identity Advocate to learn more about medical identity theft, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to have identity theft prevention tips delivered to your inbox every month.

Related Blog Posts:

• The Right Prescription to Prevent Medical Identity Theft
• How to Prevent Medical Identity Theft As Healthcare Reform Rolls-Out
• Are You At Risk For ObamaCare Identity Theft Scams?
• 4 Tips to Prevent Elderly Identity Theft

Tags: Identity Theft, identity theft protection, identity theft protection plan, medical device identity theft, medical identity theft

This Entry was posted by Linda Vincent

Thursday, March 27th, 2014 / Medical IdentityTheft.
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