JustCare

Tag: EMR

  • How to protect your health data from identity theft?

    How to protect your health data from identity theft?

    Today Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and health apps for smart phones all contain hundreds of millions of pieces of personal data on tens of millions of patients. And, lots of this data is being hacked. Why? It offers more value than credit cards to criminal hackers. In 2015, data was hacked from 78.8 million Anthem customers alone. What should you be concerned about and how can you protect your health care data?

    While alive:

    Believe it or not, criminal hackers are stealing people’s health care data to get free medical care and prescriptions. And, it can take a toll on both people’s health and your finances.

    • What should you be concerned about? 
      • If your health insurance information is stolen,
        • You may end up with huge medical bills. Criminals may try to use your insurance to buy medications or get medical care. They may rack up huge bills under your name, and you may end up having to try to undo them or worse yet, having to pay them.
        • Your health care could be at risk. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) may be compromised, filled with health care information from the criminals fraudulently using your health insurance; and, this could lead to an improper diagnosis and treatment, jeopardizing your care.
        • You could be identified as responsible for someone else’s insurance fraud. If the criminals are buying narcotics in huge quantities under your name, for example, you could be on the hook. According to Consumer Reports, that’s what happened to one woman two years after her purse was stolen with her health insurance card inside it. Fortunately, she had filed a police report, and she was able to use that to show that it was not she who had been buying the narcotics. But, it cost her a lot of time, $1,500 in fees and five years to clear herself of the drug arrest.
      • If your Medicare card is stolen, your risks can be all the greater because your Medicare number is generally your Social Security number. Criminals value your Medicare card much more than your credit card. Your Medicare EMR can be worth $500 on the black market.
    • What can you do?
      • If your health insurance card is lost or stolen, be sure to notify your health insurer. Ask your insurer to issue you a new one with a new number.
      • If your health insurance card is stolen, also notify the police.
      • If you have Medicare, make a copy of your Medicare card and put it in your wallet with the last four digits of your Medicare number, usually your SSN, blacked out.
      • Review your health insurer’s explanation of benefits notices to be sure that you received the services listed and, if you did not, reach out to the doctor listed on the notice and/or your insurer.
      • If you receive an email from what appears to be a legitimate source requesting your health insurance information or Medicare number, do not provide it. Contact your insurer or Medicare directly. Most likely, the email is a scam.
      • If you receive an email from what appears to be a legitimate source requesting you to click on a link, do not click on it. Contact the source directly. If it’s a scam, clicking on the link could give the scammers access to all the information on your computer.
      • Go to www.identitytheft.gov, the Federal Trade Commission site that helps protect you against identity fraud.

    After death: Hackers steal the identities of millions of Americans after they die each year.

    • What can you do? 
      • After a loved one passes, be sure to contact his or her health insurers as well as Social Security and all credit card providers to let them know.
      • To reduce the risk of having a loved one’s identity stolen, the IRS recommends that you:
        • Send the IRS a copy of the death certificate, so that the IRS knows to flag the person has died.
        • Send copies of the death certificate to each credit reporting bureau asking them to put a “deceased alert” on your loved one’s credit report.
        • Review the deceased’s credit report for questionable credit card activity.
        • Avoid putting too much information in an obituary, such as birth date, address, mother’s maiden name or other personally identifying information that could be useful to identity thieves.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Electronic medical records or EMRs

    Electronic medical records or EMRs

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    In the third article of a multipart series on health literacy and innovation in health care,  developed through the online master of public health at the George Washington University, I explain EMRs–electronic medical records– and their potential to help improve the patient experience for older adults. You can find the first article, a primer on health technology, here and the second on mHealth (mobile health), here.

    An electronic medical record (EMR) refers to an electronically stored record of health-related information about a person. Many people believe that these electronic records can promote better care and patient safety, while reducing health care costs. But, many also have concerns about privacy issues.

    This EMR information, which includes standard medical and clinical data, can be created, managed, and used by health care providers and their staff within a single health care practice. It is typically used to diagnose and treat patients. And, it is not easily shared with other doctors.

    EMRs should not be confused with electronic health records (EHRs). EHRs feature a more comprehensive patient history that includes data collected beyond a single doctor or other health care provider’s office. EHRs tend to be shareable among different health care providers. About eighty percent of doctors use EHRs today.

    EMRs provide a wealth of benefits compared to traditional paper records. In addition to eliminating the problem of lost or misplaced files, EMRs allow health care providers to efficiently:

    • Schedule and manage patient appointments
    • Access test results
    • Monitor blood pressure readings, vaccinations, and other health parameters
    • Identify patients who are due for screenings and/or preventive care visits
    • Track cumulative patient data over time
    • Reduce medical errors

    Charting activities are expedited by EMRs as well, since physicians and mid-level providers can enter information during a patient encounter instead of hours later. This allows for the scheduling of more patients and improves accuracy of information.

    Individuals like their ability to communicate with their doctors via text and email. It can reduce the need to actually visit the doctor’s office. And, they can get new prescriptions and receive medical test results online.

    Despite the potential of EMRs to reduce medical errors, improve patient safety, and enhance overall quality of care, adoption in the United States has been slow. Some of the barriers to adoption include high capital cost, concerns about obsolescence, lack of skilled resources for implementation and support, and privacy and security concerns. Local and national initiatives to encourage EMR adoption have shown some promise to date.

    Here’s more from Just Care: