Safe data-keeping for medical records: A quick how to guide.

Featured article by Jennifer Warren, Content Curator with Goodfirms.co

With more techno-progress in the health sector every day, hackers haven’t left any chance to gobble data from this industry as well. Digitized records have become quite easy to steal. Privacy has become an illusion. Identity theft and record corrosion have become frequent, that too on a global scale. The data hacked in Germany gets used in the USA and so on (the horrors it has caused).

Every time you visit a doctor’s office, hospital or an institute, your medical records are updated. With each entry, the probability of data leaks spikes to 1 in 50,000. Can you imagine the amount of data gobbling that can happen among the world population?

Well, it is not same as data hacked off a credit card. The consequences can be more serious than you imagine. It can rob you of your entire insurance money, manipulate your medical records and in many cases, even get you barred from insurance registration due to record-tampering. One can even lose his life because of someone else’s misdeed. These hacks can be life-threatening as the offender can change your medical records or his medical record can replace yours.

How can this be stopped? Well, the answer is indefinite. But there are always measures to be taken. Let us take a look at the precautionary steps that need to be taken from our side in order to protect our valuable data.

1)      WHAT’S BREWING?

The moment you find any suspicious activity revolving around your account, notify the authorities immediately. Change in any of the details on your insurance account, change in password, unregistered bills, medical history you don’t recall of, any out of the blue transaction, notification of diagnostic test you haven’t scheduled, deduction of insurance benefit without an intimation or any vague activity should be reported immediately.

Another tip. Do not share your Social Security number with anyone. Repeat this line 10 times so that you remember it well. No matter how much the customer care executive insists or claims to be, he doesn’t have the right or permission to ask for it.

2)      EYE FOR AN EYE

When it comes to saving your personal records, you need to be vigilant. Just as you should not save your credit card information with a site you regularly use, you shouldn’t remain logged in at your medical provider’s account or your insurance website. If necessary, make a statement of your logs and check them timely just as you maintain updated log for your bank transactions.

3)      THE SECRET LIES IN CHANGE

Always change your passwords and codes regularly. In case you have any trouble doing that, seek help from the company. Many times companies refuse to give you a direct access to your clinical records or if you are denied access to your own account details, report the situation immediately. Under federal law, they cannot deny providing information regarding your own data. Moreover, protecting yourself is your right and you are allowed to change your sensitive passcodes and keys end number of times.

4)      BENEFITS OF COPYING

Keep a copy of your records every time your medical data is updated. Take print-outs and file them. Save the records on your desktop in a password protected folder. You can even mark the new entries in your record. This will help you spot an unknown entry or an update in your history. Also, keep a copy of your insurance card and company’s statements.

5)      DECLARE A WAR

Suppose you get a phone call stating that they are from an XYZ medical provider or medical institute and need your personal or medical information. The first thing you must do is do not pay heed. Always probe in and directly ask them where they found your number. Start asking them details of their company. Most of the fraudulent callers will sense that you have a hint of where this is going and will disconnect the call. In case they don’t, tell them to directly contact your company. Insurance companies know how to handle such frauds.

In case you get repeated calls, do not hesitate to intimate the police department. There are special cells to revoke phishing attempts in cyber crime unit.

6)      YOUR LIFE IN YOUR HANDS

Every day more people worldwide are taking up the responsibility of handling their own medical history. This entire process does need a lot of knowledge about the medical conditions and medical language, but it makes the patient more aware of this medical summary and makes him more aware and careful about his own health. Apart from that, it cuts down the rate of data stealing from a medical provider’s database. Always discuss the data you enter with your clinician so that you enter precise information. Handling your own data will also help you spot an uninvited change quickly.

7)      TECHNOLOGY IS FOR YOU, MAKE THE MOST OF IT

There are many softwares and apps available to help you compile and organize your medical summary. Many apps help you to even keep a detailed track of your drug doses, injections, and your children’s immunization schedule. There are apps available that enable you to maintain a detailed record of your family and have settings for intimation in case of an emergency.

(Note – HIPAA doesn’t cover everything in your data)

It is high time we realize the importance of maintaining correct medical records and protect them. Just because it has never happened to us doesn’t mean it cannot happen to us. It is better to be safe than sorry. Data protection is your right as well as your duty.

Jennifer Warren, Content Curator with Goodfirms.co

Content Curator with Goodfirms.co, a research and review platform for app development companies. She has been helping many small companies establish. She has 3 years of experience in extensive project research and has been associated with many websites. She is mainly focused on finding more ways to embed technology into daily life to make it more resourceful.