Keeping your own personal health records is critical when it comes preventing Medical Identity Theft. This record can be paper or electronic. Also there are a number of online solutions. The American Health Information Management Association can help you in creating your own records. Their web site is www.myphr.com. Portable storage devices, CD’s or flash drives even a smart phone can be used to create your electronic record. The disadvantage is it may be lost or damaged and physician offices may not be able to read your records.
The following components should be included: Personal identification; emergency contacts (including phone numbers); health care providers (including specialists, dentists, pharmacists and their phone numbers); health insurance information; living will, advanced directives or power of attorney; organ donor authorization; current medications and dosages; allergies; immunizations; significant surgeries or illnesses; results from recent exams; and family history.
There are a number of resources and advocacy groups that help patients navigate the health care systems, an example being Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates.
If you have your own information always available to you, if someone tries to steal your medical identity you have your own records that are up to date and safe in your hands, thus preventing the HIPAA nightmare of trying to change what never really belonged to you. Be proactive in your health and all records involved with your care.

Despite the law stating medical breaches involving more than 500 people must be listed on the Health and Human Services (HHS) breach list, the Identity Theft Resource Center recorded medical breaches which never made the list. Do you know why? The HHS list allows the loophole of “risk of harm” without requiring federal law enforcement verification. One state has reported more than 200 breaches. Most are not included in the Identity Theft Resource Center Breach Report because they did not include sufficient pertinent details regarding the event. Some states now harbor a protected breach list which is not made public at all, or is only accessible by exercising the Freedom of Information Act. Doesn’t this make you wonder why is it all so protected? Read the entire article from the Office of Inadequate Security
http://www.databreaches.net/?p=12436

Data breeches, mismanagement of files, lost hard drives, health plans are more at risk, not just hospitals for identity theft. Last month, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee revealed that up to 1 million patients could be impacted by the theft of 57 computer hard drives that were encoded but not encrypted.
Read article by Caralyn Davis at: http://www.fiercehealthpayer.com/story/data-breaches-another-opportunity-bad-publicity/2010-05-17?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz0oEOm6c5P

More worries about the security of patient information and private medical data with the onset of Electronic Healthcare Records. Read the article available at:
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/survey-personal-health-information-less-secure-2010

Five ways you can help prevent your child’s identity from being stolen.

1. Think first before you post. Guide children to share only the information that they wouldn’t mind sharing with strangers and their friends. Make them aware of identity theft – in their language – so they think before sharing nuggets of information that might be useful to an i.d. thief. By the way, how many of us post things about our kids, and family online? Before you go announcing your sister’s new baby on your social networking site, in email, on a blog, etc. consider the information you might be making available for thief. (Remember: place of birth and date of birth is all they need to become a new person.)

2. Don’t use your children’s real names. Wherever possible, enforce the use of code or nick names instead of a child’s real name online, whether for establishing an email address, registering on a kid-friendly website (to use the games, for example), or for setting up a profile on a social networking site.

3. Use privacy settings. For social networking fanatics, make sure only the people you know and trust can see what you’re posting and doing.

4. Use reputable, up-to-date security software. While identity theft can happen through offline sources as well as online, having good, updated security software will help prevent information-stealing software from getting onto your computers or smart phones in the first place. Use security software on any device that you store personal information on.

5. Shred and lock. The ITRC recommends that you shred all documents that contain personal information (whether about yourself or your children) and lock your mailbox if you can.

If you are resident of the U.S. and believe you or your child has become a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for free assistance at:

(888) 400-5530

You can also find additional resources and prevention tips at www.idtheftcenter.org

For those of you who have heard me speak on Medical Identity Theft, and how Pharmacies and specialty drugs are a target not only for health care fraud but identity theft, read this article at BaltimoreOnline. What the thieves do with your information you might throw in the trash: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100106/NEWS01/1060325/ID-thieves-target-pharmacies-trash

The advent of Electronic Health Records may mean the rise of Medical Identity Theft and the fears attached such as credit misinformation; errors in health records including allergies, blood types; loss of lifetime coverage or even becoming uninsurable. Read the informative article at ihealthbeat and take note of how to reduce your risk.
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2009/11/30/growth-of-ehrs-could-lead-to-rise-in-medical-identity-theft.aspx