How could this happen? If you have ever been a patient in a clinic or hospital, it could happen to you...LET ME EXPLAIN! First, you have likely given out your Social Security number to the clinic or hospital and your doctor, for insurance purposes. It's a standard thing, and your Social Security number is asked for on a routine basis. You probably thought that was the end of it, but that is not always the case! You see, your medical records are probably dictated and along with that dictation, your doctor may dictate your Social Security number as he dictates your other patient demographics such as your name, date of birth, medical record number, etc. After that, your medical record is transcribed THE WORST PART!Your medical record may be being transcribed by someone not even in the United States, but in a foreign country! Some national transcription services are having YOUR medical records transcribed overseas, sent back to the US via the Internet. Gathering and collection of medical records and patient information seems to have become BIG BUSINESS! At who's peril? So, that is how the finished document can be sent over the Internet--YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS ALONG WITH YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER! There is no way to know if the company or service providing medical transcription for your hospital has any security in place to protect against people stealing your document, WHICH MAY CONTAIN YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, from the Internet. Why? Because there are no laws about this practice! Yet, your medical records are supposed to be confidential, so what is happening here?WARNING! YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY # MAY BE ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE!
A tough lesson on medical privacy Pakistani transcriber threatens UCSF over back pay
David Lazarus Wednesday, October 22, 2003
"Your patient records are out in the open... so you better track that person and make him pay my dues." A woman in Pakistan doing cut-rate clerical work for UCSF Medical Center threatened to post patients' confidential files on the Internet unless she was paid more money.To show she was serious, the woman sent UCSF an e-mail earlier this month with actual patients' records attached. The violation of medical privacy - apparently the first of its kind - highlights the danger of "offshoring" work that involves sensitive materials, an increasing trend among budget-conscious U.S. companies and institutions. "
Link in Newspaper for Rest of Story!
NEW ITEM!!! Does bin Laden have US Army medical files? Asheville woman blows whistle; MedQuist denies story
Could Osama bin Laden and other terrorists have access to the medical records of thousands of retired and active duty American military personnel? That's one possibility according to a story of overseas outsourcing, broken promises, corporate intimidation and massive technological failure told by Susan Purdue, a former employee of the MedQuist medical transcription company.
Purdue said MedQuist, had contracted with the Veterans Administration to transcribe voice dictation from doctors at Veterans Administration Medical Centers around the world. According to Purdue, some of this transcription work has been done by offshore workers in India and Pakistan. Purdue says American transcriptionists are paid 10 to 12 cents per line. Companies in India and Pakistan will do an entire page of notes for less than 25 cents. MedQuist's Web site notes the company has "10,000 US/based transcribers." No mention is made of overseas workers. [snip]
The situation changed in January 2002 when she saw a file that contained areport from an American soldier who had been shot in leg in Kandahar, Afghanistan. "He was telling his doctors where he had been, what unit he was with, what weapons he had been firing and said he wanted to get back because his unit was being redeployed to the Korean DMZ."
Purdue said she realized this was the file of an active duty soldier and contacted the Veterans Administration Central Office. She learned that MedQuist was doing the physicals for all the pilots and many other soldiers and airmen that were going overseas. These files contained vital information such as name, rank, home address, names of relatives, current duty station and locations to which records should be sent including upcoming overseas assignments.
If released to the wrong hands, this data could jeopardize missions, endanger families and provide other vital information to the Taliban, Al Qaeda or other regimes including Iraq and North Korea.
Purdue said she raised her concerns with a corporate vice president at the company's national technical meeting in Atlanta in April, 2002."
Old Link was at http://www.ashevilletribune.com/tailor_bank122.htm - but is a dead link now
WHO IS TO BLAME?
If the hospital or clinic requires your physician to dictate your Social Security number as part of your medical record, then the hospital is to blame!
If your doctor is just dictating your Social Security number because he thinks he is supposed to, he is doing that because it has never been pointed out to him that by doing so, he could jeopardize your very credit or financial status!
BEWARE: There are a lot of high-tech burglars out there in Cyberspace who are stealing identities, wrecking lives and finances, running up credit card bills, stealing funds, etc., by learning a person's Social Security number!
NOT ONLY THAT!
SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Gathering of information is called "data mining" and is increasingly being done outside of the US (offshore) in the interest of "world trade" and "global economy."
What protection is there in place for U.S. patients and their personal confidential medical records? What overseas enforcement is there of existing US privacy laws, if any? How can any such enforcement ever be implemented?
ABOVE ALL: Who stands to profit from "data mining" medical information the most? Insurance companies? Investors? Foreign Governments? US Government? Corporate America? International Corporations? Pharmaceutical Companies? WHAT ABOUT THE U.S. PATIENTS? WHAT ABOUT OUR PRIVACY AND OUR RIGHTS?
These are important questions we should be asking, in addition to being alarmed about OUR Social Security Numbers being on the Internet without our Knowledge or Consent!
WHAT CAN BE DONE AND WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Contact the Medical Records Department of your local health care institution, hospital, or clinic to find out what their policies are to protect your Social Security Number. Find out if they require your SS# to be on your medical records. ASK THE MEDICAL RECORDS DEPARTMENT TO INFORM PHYSICIANS THEY ARE NOT TO DICTATE YOUR SS# ON YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS UNLESS YOU GIVE WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Contact all of your health care providers, including your doctors, and request that they not dictate your SS# into your medical records.Contact your U.S. Senators and Congressional Representative and ask for a law to protect giving out your SS# as part of your medical records without your permission and as part of your PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS!
Voice your Complaint to: Joint Commission at: complaint@jcaho.orgThey are paid by your Tax Dollars to evaluate and accredit your hospital and after that, your hospital can receive Medicare reimbursement. This is a Federal Agency. They oversee medical records, as well.
Voice your concerns over this issue to:Talk to everyone you know about this issue. Most patients don't have ANY IDEA about what is going on. You have my permission to print this web page and pass copies of it around.
Write a letter to the Editor of your local newspaper.
Bookmark this site and e-mail all of your friends about this issue.
If you are a physician or other health care provider who dictates patient medical records, perhaps you have never thought about this issue before. Please be aware that dictating a patient's Social Security Number can possibly put a patient's financial security at risk, as mentioned above. Please pass the word along to your colleagues and hospital or facility administrators.
Thank you for taking time and interest in visiting here. Please pass the word along to everyone you know and have a wonderful day!
RESOURCES AND LINKS:
US SENATE--Write your Senators
US HOUSE--Write your Congressional Representative
American Medical Association Home Page
(FED. GOVT) Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (Accredits more than 19,500 Health Care Organizations) PAID BY YOUR TAX DOLLARS!
American Medical Transcriptionists Guild
AAMT (American Association for Medical Transcription)
FREE CHRISTMAS RECIPES!
FREE SUMMER Recipes to Share
Sample Hospital Reports for Newbie MTs
Get Politically Active - Citizens Lobby
Learn to Play HYMNS from First Piano Lesson!
