|
R. Lewis Dark: Is Your Lab at Risk from Patient Identity Theft?
REMEMBER THE CASE OF THE PHLEBOTOMIST in San Francisco who was
discovered reusing butterfly needles? This incident revealed how vulnerable
a laboratory—and its public reputation for integrity—is to
actions by a rogue or renegade employee.
That was back in 1999. A phlebotomist working for SmithKline
Beecham Clinical Laboratories (SBCL) was found to be washing and reusing
butterfly needles. (See TDR, April 26, 1999.) The incident generated
national headlines. Tracing back to every patient service center where that
phlebotomist had worked in previous years, between lab regulators and
SBCL, some 15,000 people were offered testing to determine if they might
have become infected because of this phlebotomist's actions.
In a similar fashion, you are about to learn how another phlebotomist,
Richard Gibson, employed in the laboratory at Seattle Cancer Care
Center, put his employer in the media spotlight when it was discovered
he had stolen the identify of a critically-ill cancer patient and opened
multiple credit accounts under the patient's name.
I'll bet you didn't hear about this story. Although it was national news
when Gibson was convicted last summer as the first individual ever to be
charged under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act), few people in the lab industry gave it more than passing interest.
That changes with this issue of THE DARK REPORT.
We have been researching patient identity theft as a growing problem that
will need a strategic response by labs and pathology group practices. During
this research, THE DARK REPORT ferreted out a key fact overlooked in the
Gibson case. He was a phlebotomist and committed the crime while
employed by a hospital laboratory. This went unnoticed in the lab industry.
We have been researching patient identity theft as a growing problem that
will need a strategic response by labs and pathology group practices. During
this research, THE DARK REPORT ferreted out a key fact overlooked in the
Gibson case. He was a phlebotomist and committed the crime while
employed by a hospital laboratory. This went unnoticed in the lab industry.
I believe the fact that the first person criminally convicted under HIPAA
was a phlebotomist changes this story from something of mere passing interest
to a high-priority alert for every laboratory and pathology group in the
U.S. It's a major event that warrants the full attention of all laboratories and
pathology group practices. To help you prepare your laboratory for this new
risk factor, this issue of THE DARK REPORT gives you extensive intelligence
and lessons learned from the people actually involved in dealing with the
aftermath of this crime of patient identity theft.
Phlebotomist Convicted For Theft of Patient ID
Yes, it was a phlebotomist! Labs should take steps to review and tighten their policies
CEO SUMMARY: Patient identity theft by a phlebotomist,
prosecuted and convicted under HIPAA. This is a story
whose true dimensions went unreported within the laboratory
industry—until now! THE DARK REPORT is first to alert its
clients to the possibility that every laboratory and pathology
group practice may be at greater risk from internal
patient identity theft than previously thought.
Privacy Officer Shares Lessons on ID Theft
Labs and pathology groups can take
proactive steps to increase protection
CEO SUMMARY:"Nothing teaches like experience." That
adage aptly describes the lessons learned at a Seattle hospital
after a case of patient identity theft surfaced.
Laboratories and pathology groups must be just as alert to
the potential for patient identity theft as they are to inappropriate
disclosures of a patient's health record. It's one of the
fastest-growing crimes in the Internet era.
Phlebotomist Gibson Steals Patient's Identity
It's a warning to labs and path groups: risk of patient ID theft may be increasing
CEO SUMMARY: It was a case of a well-liked lab worker acting
in rogue fashion to steal and use the identity of a patient to
commit financial fraud. Within laboratories, employees in phlebotomy,
accessioning, data entry, coding, billing, and collections
often have access to sensitive patient information. In
positions with low hourly wages and high turnover, they may,
like Gibson, find the temptation to be too much to resist.
Managed Care Update: Medicare Managed Care Is Poised to Double in Size
For local laboratories and pathology groups, this represents both a threat and opportunity
OIG May Be Investigating AP Laboratory Condos
First evidence of an active OIG investigation has begun surfacing in the marketplace
CEO SUMMARY: Attorneys for one of the companies which
sells and manages anatomic pathology condominium laboratories
have recently sent correspondence to owners of
these lab condos. This correspondence discloses that the
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is examining the company.
Knowledge of this situation is only now surfacing and
few other details have become public.
Labs in United Kingdom Pressured to Change
Healthcare trends push labs to better serve primary care, emergency, and POC
CEO SUMMARY: Across the United Kingdom, the physical layout,
instrumentation, and operation of laboratories is very
close to that of laboratories in the United States and Canada.
The source of most differences is how the healthcare system
in the United Kingdom funds clinical services and sets priorities.
The latest National Health Service initiative is to have
selected pharmacies collect specimens and perform lab tests.
Dark Index: Year-end Financials Released For Quest, LabCorp & LabOne
It's a stable marketplace, as major public labs
report modest growth in revenues and earnings
INTELLIGENCE:
SEVEN MEDICAL GROUPS
IN WASHINGTON POST
PERFORMANCE INFO
ON INTERNET
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
| 
