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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

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Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

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Friday, August 19, 2005

Fuss over fraud by hospital clerk

There's currently a big fuss going on in Aspen over credit card fraud allegedly perpetrated by a claims clerk at the Aspen Valley Hospital. The hospital has since outsourced this function, saying this move "virutally guaranteed" it could not happen again.

Aspen Valley Hospital: All care taken to prevent identity theft
"... When asked if AVH had performed a thorough background check on Lozano, Jellinek became extremely agitated with a reporter. He said the facility wouldn't spend $10,000 for a background check on a $10-per-hour clerk. He accused The Aspen Times of attempting to blow the story out of proportion and making the identity theft appear to be an extensive problem with the hospital's billing and collections procedures.
Jellinek later apologized and stressed that he and other AVH officials have worked hard to fix a financial crisis there and didn't want to see the progress harmed. One part of the solution was outsourcing billing and collections to First Consulting Group, he said...."

Methinks a background check may be in order if the clerk will have privileged access to patient information ... or you don't give privileged access to a $10-an-hour clerk.

As an aside, it looks like it was simple theft of credit card numbers, so "identity theft" may not be the appropriate term.

Labels: identity theft, information breaches