My Retired Doctor can help ensure the security and privacy of sensitive patient information.

According to a recent LexusNexis Risk Solutions Study, the health care industry is facing big challenges when it comes to fraud mitigation and privacy protection. In particular, the collection of Social Security Numbers has raised concern as an unnecessary assumption of liability, as this particular piece of sensitive data may not actually be adding much to the strength of patient ID verification processes.

Indeed, in many health care organizations the use of a SSN as an identifier is not actually required for any legal reason, but is a de facto mandate driven by the software tools being used. In fact, in the health care industry there is more regulation about how data can be stored and used than about what types of data may be collected in the first place.

This situation is far from ideal for patients and providers. According to the study, fewer than 3 in 10 consumers feel no qualms about sharing their complete SSN with health care providers. And health care providers are left facing significant liability risks should their systems ever by compromised and these SSNs and other sensitive data stolen.

One solution that has been proposed is the creation of a universal patient identifier that could be used by all providers and vendors in place of the SSN. However, such a system would present challenges of its own, and adoption seems unlikely.

For the time being, we must deal with the reality of the situation and do everything possible to safeguard the privacy of SSNs and other personal information held in patient medical records. If you are a retiring physician, you may be wondering what the best way to do this post-retirement might be.

You could leave your records in care of a former medical partner or whoever may purchase your practice, or you may have the option of storing records in a medical facility. However, these options all leave your patients’ sensitive information in care of entities who have many other responsibilities to attend to.

By trusting My Retired Doctor as your official records custodian, on the other hand, you can get peace of mind from the fact that your patients’ medical records are in the hands of an experienced company who can give them the attention they deserve.

At My Retired Doctor, we employ a variety of state-of-the-art measures to protect both paper and electronic records from unauthorized access, while also ensuring patients and other legally entitled entities are able to request copies of those records quickly and easily. To learn more about how we can safeguard your patients’ SSNs and other data after you retire, please contact My Retired Doctor today.