Medical Identity Theft Protection

While most of us have become increasingly aware of identity theft and follow reasonable precautions to safeguard our credit cards and bank accounts, we must now pay closer attention to health information and medical identity theft protection. The next year will see implementation of electronic medical records in full force which places medical records breach an ever increasing possibility.  Identity theft protection companies such as Identity Hawk will become crucial participants in monitoring information breach.

Consequences of Medical Identity Theft:

• Life threatening errors:  Erroneous medical information, laboratory and other test results may not only result in the wrong diagnosis and treatment but in life threatening drug interactions, wrong procedures and medications.  
• Financial consequences to the individual as well as to the public in general: The Ponemon Institute, a watch dog agency which conducts research on security breach estimates that in 2010, there were 1.5 million victims of medical identity theft at a total cost of $26 billion or $20,000 per victim.  In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services allocated $1.7 billion for fraud detection.  
• Individuals have been billed for services they have never received.  Identity theft has resulted in erroneous caps in medical insurance and the victim becoming liable for large co-payments when insurance benefits are maxed out.  Victims have suffered denial of medical insurance due to false medical information. (Medical Identity Theft:The Information Crime that Can Kill You)
• Limited victim recourse: While bank and credit card companies offer some degree of fraud protection to the victim, there is very little recourse available to the medical identity theft victim.
• Increased cost of medical care:  Protection measures essential to the security of protected health information will certainly add to the administrative cost of medical care which gets passed on to the consumer.
• Loss of reputation:  Damming false medical information once entered into the medical record may follow a victim

Consumer should utilize the same precautions with their medical insurance and social security information as they do with their credit card and bank information.The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed certain safeguards to the implementation of the HITECH Act of 2009 (Health Information and Clinical Health Act) to include the right and ability of the consumer to request a record of who has accessed his protected health information.

Baking Novice

This guest post from Rafael Hodge


I didn’t know a thing about baking when I started at the shop but Jenny was so sweet and was really patient with me while I learned. I’ve been here about two years now and while I’m still no Wolfgang Puck I’m getting better every day and I’m even starting to like waking up at like 3 in the morning! The people I work with are just great and Jenny allows me to play to my strengths which really lie in organization. She has me doing all the payroll stuff and the bank card processing and that makes me feel better about what I’m contributing to the bake shop as a whole. I wish I could be as proficient as she is at icing cupcakes or getting cakes to stand straight but I’m just not and I guess I never will be. Baking isn’t in my blood like it is in hers but I tell you one thing, there’s something new in my blood since starting here and I think it’s high cholesterol!

The Simpsons' Is Still The Best Cartoon

Thanks for the post from Noe Castro

When it comes to cartoons, 'The Simpsons' has been one of the best for years. The show has been on for over twenty years. Fortunately, it has remained fresh during its entire run. I watch 'The Simpsons' on directstartv.com whenever I get a chance. It is one of the most engaging shows of any kind.
'The Simpsons' features tons of characters. Outside of the main family, we see different residents of Springfield pop up in different situations. My favorite character on the show is Montgomery Burns. Burns is the old, wealthy owner of the nuclear power plant. Often times, Burns seems to think he lives in the 1920's. He references out of date technology all the time. Another great character on the show is Ned Flanders. Flanders is the religious neighbor of the Simpson family. No matter how much Homer mistreats him, Flanders remains as happy as can be.
'The Simpsons' has been on for so long that you would think they've covered every storyline possible. However, they keep finding more. Unlike most shows, episodes of the 'The Simpsons' rarely relate to one another. Each one stands alone. While the Simpson family appears in every episode, the rest of the town appears sporadically. This enables 'The Simpsons' to offer a lot of different storylines. Given that the show isn't ending any time soon, that is good news for the fans.