Healthcare IT Update

Resource: Look for a new report from the World Privacy Forum early in 2010.

Even as the feds repeatedly postpone the compliance deadline for the Red Flags Rule, medical identity theft is on the rise, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Experts say the recession is one factor contributing to the climb, as patients use the insurance cards of relatives or friends to obtain care they can’t afford.

A bigger problem is the influx of fraudsters who see PHI as easy pickings. These crooks typically pay health care workers for insurance information and then resell it.

Up Next: PHI theft hot spots …

Example: A front-desk clerk at a Weston, FL clinic downloaded PHI for 1,100 Medicare patients. She gave it to her cousin, who then submitted false Medicare claims totaling 2.8 million.

Irony: As more and more providers adopt EMRs, big piles of PHI…