Medical Identity Theft Out of all the places we should feel our identities to be most secure, the individualized, private rooms where we discuss our latest health concerns should be one of them. Unfortunately for some, that is not always the case. Although identity theft is more popularly known as the act of an individual taking one’s personal information for financial gain, it can also occur within the healthcare field (American Optometric Association). Not only do individuals fall victim to the theft of their medical identities, through the means of others having access to their medical records, but along with that comes a more sinister side to medical identity theft; one that is often unexpected and can rarely be prevented. Though it
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As easy as it is for a criminal to obtain a person’s credit card or social security information, it is now just as simple for that same person to have access to a patient’s entire medical record. Research conducted by various organizations such as, the Identity Theft Research Center, found that approximately “8.4 million people were hit with identity theft in 2013- that’s up 19% from 2012” (Satter). So what makes taking someone else’s medical identity so appealing? Unlike other forms of identity theft, financial gain is not always the forefront motive for this type of thieving, but receiving “medical treatment, prescription drugs, or surgery,” that an individual has not been authorized for, sometimes is (American Optometric Association). Even though financial gain is not always the primary motive, it is important to note that according to the World Privacy Forum, “the “street value” of a stolen Social Security number is valued at $1, whereas the “street value” of stolen medical identification information is worth $5” (Terry). The difference in value may speak to why medical identity theft cases are …show more content…
In some cases individuals will come into the pharmacy claiming to be a relative of a patient so that they may have access to drugs not intended for their use. Another instance is when individuals will attempt to have many of the same prescriptions filled at different pharmacies. In this particular situation that individual is seeking to have an excessive amount of drugs for either personal use or to sale. Even though these people are not necessarily taking the identity of someone else, they are manipulating the care of workers in the medical field in order to receive additional treatment or medicine not intended for them. By taking on the identity of a sick patient, in order to receive extensive amounts of medication used for one’s own recreational purposes, is a form of medical identity theft.
One can spend all the time in the world researching medical identity theft; ways to detect it, along with ways to prevent it. What these articles and research fail to show is how one can experience medical identity theft and never truly return to the person they once were. It has been a year, this month, since my grandma had her stroke. Unlike other forms of medical identity theft, the loss of identity that comes from having a stroke can not always
As easy as it is for a criminal to obtain a person’s credit card or social security information, it is now just as simple for that same person to have access to a patient’s entire medical record. Research conducted by various organizations such as, the Identity Theft Research Center, found that approximately “8.4 million people were hit with identity theft in 2013- that’s up 19% from 2012” (Satter). So what makes taking someone else’s medical identity so appealing? Unlike other forms of identity theft, financial gain is not always the forefront motive for this type of thieving, but receiving “medical treatment, prescription drugs, or surgery,” that an individual has not been authorized for, sometimes is (American Optometric Association). Even though financial gain is not always the primary motive, it is important to note that according to the World Privacy Forum, “the “street value” of a stolen Social Security number is valued at $1, whereas the “street value” of stolen medical identification information is worth $5” (Terry). The difference in value may speak to why medical identity theft cases are …show more content…
In some cases individuals will come into the pharmacy claiming to be a relative of a patient so that they may have access to drugs not intended for their use. Another instance is when individuals will attempt to have many of the same prescriptions filled at different pharmacies. In this particular situation that individual is seeking to have an excessive amount of drugs for either personal use or to sale. Even though these people are not necessarily taking the identity of someone else, they are manipulating the care of workers in the medical field in order to receive additional treatment or medicine not intended for them. By taking on the identity of a sick patient, in order to receive extensive amounts of medication used for one’s own recreational purposes, is a form of medical identity theft.
One can spend all the time in the world researching medical identity theft; ways to detect it, along with ways to prevent it. What these articles and research fail to show is how one can experience medical identity theft and never truly return to the person they once were. It has been a year, this month, since my grandma had her stroke. Unlike other forms of medical identity theft, the loss of identity that comes from having a stroke can not always