[Med-privacy] Red Flag Obligations for Health Care Providers: New Report

[Bob Gellman]

Contact:
Pam Dixon
+ 1 760-268-0094
pdixon@worldprivacyforum.org
www.worldprivacyforum.org


(New Report) World Privacy Forum Publishes Red Flag Rule Suggestions for 
Hospitals and Providers; new FTC-enforced rules go into effect Nov. 1, can apply 
to health care providers

     SAN DIEGO, Ca., Sept. 24  -- 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. www.worldprivacyforum.org.

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+ Robert Gellman       <bob@bobgellman.com> +
+ Privacy and Information Policy Consultant +
+ 419 Fifth Street SE                       +
+ Washington, DC 20003                      +
+ 202-543-7923           www.bobgellman.com +
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