Medical Identity Theft

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that with the accelerated use of the Internet, technology has engineered exciting changes in the way the health care system can manage personal health and financial information. The impact in the future will be up-to-date medical information that will be available at a moment's notice. The writer points out however, that while technology brings new and unique improvements, information theft is also on the rise. The writer discusses that understanding the language of Internet safety is one of the most important beginning steps to maintain patients' confidentiality. The writer concludes that Internet hacking prevention strategies; such as encrypting, strong passwords, or return receipt, etc. are just as vital for the network and computer systems as they are for human medical prevention and treatment.

Outline:
Benefits
Potential e-Health Issue
Employee Involvement
Steps for Improvement
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The patient's vital information will be in the record and can be obtained easily by the physician. Patient's tests, as well as computer generated x-ray films can be sent from hospital to physician without the use of a courier service or delay. The hospital can enlist the services of a night hawk service to read emergent radiology films. The records download into the patient's electronic file. This could result in a quick diagnosis and treatment and benefit the patient with a better outcome. The author's facility has purchased glucose machines that download the patient's blood glucose levels into the patient's record. This eliminates the possibility of misreading the re-written results and possibly giving inappropriate doses of Insulin. The physician can communicate with the patient by e-mail instead of leaving telephone messages for anyone to hear. If a physician leaves a message on an answering machine, the physician is limited as to what he can say."

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Medical Association. (2007, May 7). Patient confidentiality. Retrieved November 2, 2007, from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/4610.html
• Crane, A. B. (2007, January 5). Medical identity theft can kill you. Retrieved November 2, 2007, from http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/insurance/20070105_medical_identity_theft_a1.asp
• Dixon, P. (2005). Electronic health records and the national health information network: patient choice, privacy, and security in digitized environments. San Francisco: from http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/testimony/NCVHStestimony_092005.html November 2, 2007
• Joint Commission. (2007). Hospital accreditation standards. Oakbrook Terrace: IL.
• Microsoft. (2007). Protect your computer. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/default.mspx

More papers on Medical Identity Theft:

• Analytical Essay # 123854 : "Patient Privacy Issues"
• Term Paper # 133530 : "Fraud in the Health Care Industry"
• Term Paper # 110167 : "Cell Phones"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: