Fighting Healthcare Fraud with ‘Know Your Patient’ Processes

Over the last decade there have been over 2,550 healthcare data breaches impacting more than 175 million medical records. That’s the equivalent of affecting more than 50 percent of the U.S. population.

What’s not commonly understood is that medical records command an exceedingly high value on the dark web. These medical records can be listed for up to $1,000 each, or 10 times more than the average credit card data breach record. This is because there is far more personal information attached to health records than any other electronic database.

Given the scope of recent data breaches in this space, and the growth of the dark web and identity theft, cyber criminals are now more empowered than ever to easily impersonate legitimate patients. Therefore, it is critical that all sectors of the health space properly vet and verify their patients to ensure that they are who they claim to be.