Red Flags Rule: Fighting Identity Theft

On January 1, 2008, the newly-released Red Flags Rule stipulated that certain businesses are required to "spot and heed" the red flags for identity theft. Health care providers, in particular, should be vigilant in monitoring any suspicious activity that may indicate identity thieves have accessed stolen information including social security numbers, birth dates, account numbers, etc. in order to acquire accounts or services. Compliance to the Red Flags rule will be enforced starting on May 1, 2009. Is your organization covered?

Eastablishing a program that addresses dealing with identity theft is certainly recommended should the issue arise. In their article titled The “Red Flags” Rule: What Health Care Providers Need to Know About Complying with New Requirements for Fighting Identity Theft, Tiffany George and Pavneet Singh discuss who must comply; the penalties for failure to comply; and offer advice on identifying, detecting, preventing and mitigating identity theft. The article also briefly touches on the processes of administering and updating your program. To see the entire article click here.