medical records. For example, I use myICeshield as a tool for every identity theft victim. medical records are like fingerprints. The vault keeps valuable documents that are password protected and assigned to key people as a strategic tool. Identity theft restoration is expensive if you are not protected against it. It is similar to homeowners insurance. You cannot expect to be approved for insurance after the house is on fire. Follow the HIPaa and HITeCH guidelines, which encompass seven steps established by the courts. simply add identity theft diligence as part of it. Individuals and your company can be held liable both civilly and criminally. Following the seven steps demonstrates a good faith effort to eliminate the risks as much as reasonably possible. • When replacing IT equipment, ensure that the hard drives are scrubbed according to military standards.make sure copy machine drums have holes drilled into them to avoid being installed in other machines that can print the data still on the drums. • Perform background checks on employees. This is required by the Office of Inspector general for healthcare enterprises. Perform due diligence on vendors that have access to the office when you are not there to monitor them. Do not let visitors walk around the company unescorted. • Apply the minimum-use standard for PHI and identity information. Only those whose job functions require exposure should be allowed access. This should be incorporated into job descriptions with incentives for meeting and exceeding the seven steps referred to above. • Protect your smartphone with a password. If the phone is stolen, the password will buy you enough time to notify appropriate carriers to shut it down before important data can be taken. • Do not carry sensitive data on a laptop or in a briefcase when traveling. It is too easy to steal it. Do not carry usB sticks that are not encrypted. • Do not put your date of birth on any social media. ask your friends and family not to wish you a happy birthday that way either. It does not take much to figure out your birthdate if a thief can find your high school graduation date. remember, your data is already online for someone to buy for $20. This may make social media less fun, but it is an important step in protecting your identity. I use Plaxo to send birthday or anniversary e-cards, or for anything else that is sent directly to the intended recipient. • Find out if your child has a credit profile, especially if they are younger than 18 years old (they should not have one). • If you are beginning a family, do not use stork announcements on your lawn. In doing so, you are telling a thief your child’s date of birth. With a date of birth in hand, all they would need to do is go to the mailbox to figure out the baby’s full name. Do not announce birthdates on social media either. remember, it only takes a name and a date of birth to steal an identity. • Protect your belongings when they are not in your hands. For example, if you park your car with a valet, make sure you do not leave sensitive data in the car and lock your gPs, if possible. This is not to say that all valets are identity thieves, but identity theft has occurred from these situations, so protection is always the best route. • Avoid using debits cards for online transactions since the funds come directly out of your bank account. • If you see small charges on your bills that you didn’t make, investigate them. They may be as small as $1.00, but they are worth investigating. These are just some ideas of what you can do to reduce the potential for identity theft. We now live in a world that makes so much data available. Fortunately, a little prudence goes a long way to reduce the threat of identity theft. although we cannot eliminate identity theft, we can be smarter and more aware – and that is half the battle. You can also receive a free risk assessment of identity theft and PHI exposure to determine how else you might be able to reduce identity theft and information exposure. Contact me at the email address below. Ester Horowitz is an author, educator, and certified health compliance and identity theft risk management specialist, with more than 30 years in the areas of business growth and compliance. Ester is author of the book The Blatant Truth About Owning a Medical Practice. Contact Ester Horowitz at (516) 318-8655 or email her at info@mycomplianceguy. com. Learn more by visiting www.mycomplianceguy.com and www.healthcareincompliance.com. THe jOurNal OF THe HealTHCare BIllINg aND maNagemeNT assOCIaTION 17
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