Here are some interesting facts for Doctors to ponder:
Six out of ten physicians 55 and older have been sued, according to the American Medical Association study. Also noted by the medical society was that 82% of Illinois physicians said they see every patient as a medical liability risk. New laws indicate that physicians may be legally responsible for “patients you have never seen before, if you are administratively in charge of the practice” so states attorney Sacopulos. “Administrative claims against doctors will likely increase as the Affordable Care Act is implemented”, said Catherine Flynn, a New Jersey based medical liability defense attorney.
Medical identity theft is very much on the Medicare radar. In recent years it has become the fastest growing type of identity theft in the world. According to reports, an estimated 2 million people have become victims of identity theft each year. For physicians the threat is a double whammy, physician practices face dual repercussions when patients’ identities are stolen. Not only may doctors be liable under the HIPAA regulations but liable for potential medical errors occurring due to a mixed medical file.could get worse as electronic sharing of patient data increases. Physicians could unwittingly end up using information fraudulently provided to another physician” Under new regulations both physicians may be held liable for any harm caused by the misinformation.
Bottom line: The easiest way to limit liability against treating patients who use someone else’s identity or insurance information is by using Medi Track. Our validation process assures you of the identity of your patient and alerts you to any past fraudulent attempts, satisfying both HIPAA and FTC regulations.
How prevalent is medical ID theft? According to a report from the professional service firm of PwC, 33% of physicians, insurers and pharmacies have reported catching a patient using someone else’s identity. The bottom line is know your patients.