The New York Times reports that the FBI is investigating an extortion threat involving the personal and medical information of up to 50 million people. The actual extent of the breach is unknown however the extortionist has provided sample data including
names, DOB, social security numbers and prescription information.
The target of the letter threatening to expose the records of millions of people is Express Scripts, a medical benefits management company which holds the records of an estimated 50 million people.
The cat is out of the bag there folks.
It's time for a new strategy to provide privacy and security with medical services. Practical identity procedures could reduce the incidences or error, script-shopping, perscription drug abuse and last but not least patient privacy breaches.
One thing it could definitely do is streamline legitimate access to your medical records and reduce any unnecessary exposure of your personal data when seeking treatment or obtaining your prescrition drugs.
Medical insurance fraud would be reduced, a more privacy compliant and real-time view could be taken of disease accross the entire population enabling more efficient targeting of health resources, reducing costs and on the whole, improving patient outcomes.
It's not like anyone doesn't think there's a problem, it's time to think about the solution.
Did you take your mobile with you last time you went to the doctor's?