SAN DIEGO, Sept. 24 CA-WorldPrivacyForum
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Privacy Forum's latest
report, Red Flag and Address Discrepancy Requirements: Suggestions for Health
Care Providers, discusses the applicability of the new FTC regulations to the
health care sector along with suggestions for providers. The report addresses
newly issued regulations by the Federal Trade Commission that require
financial institutions and creditors to develop and implement written identity
theft prevention programs. Health care providers -- whether they are
for-profit, non-profit, or governmental entities -- may have obligations under
the new rules.
Medical identity theft is a real concern in the health care sector, and is
included expressly in the Red Flag Rules Guidelines. The possibility of
medical identity theft gives rise to a duty to monitor for the potential that
patients may be victims, among other duties outlined by the new regulations.
The regulations take effect November 1, 2008, and will be enforced by the
Federal Trade Commission.
"The Red Flag Rules are an important opportunity for the health care
sector to protect consumers and patients from the impacts of medical identity
theft," said World Privacy Forum executive director Pam Dixon. "If implemented
correctly, the new regulations could ease some of the problems consumers have
been experiencing with the impacts of this crime."
The World Privacy Forum published the first major report on medical
identity theft and brought that crime to national attention for the first
time. To read the Red Flag report visit http://www.worldprivacyforum.org.
Visit the World Privacy Forum's Medical Identity Theft page for more
information, and to sign up for the latest medical ID theft news:
http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/medicalidentitytheft.html
The World Privacy Forum is a nonprofit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) public
interest research group. The organization is focused on redefining privacy in
a modern digital era by means of conducting in-depth research, analysis, and
consumer education. The World Privacy Forum's groundbreaking work has
documented and brought national attention to critical new areas, some for the
first time -- including medical identity theft. Areas of focus for the World
Privacy Forum include health care, technology, and the financial sector. The
California-based World Privacy Forum was founded in 2003 and works both
nationally and internationally. http://www.worldprivacyforum.org.
SOURCE World Privacy Forum
