After an auto accident, most insurance companies request you to sign a medical authorization. However, the medical authorization may effect your privacy and your personal information.
January 31, 2006 (Press Release) --
Protecting your privacy is extremely important. Every day there are cases of identity theft reported in the newspaper. Now, there is a new concern that most people do not know about: theft of your medical records.
The University of California, San Francisco recently had a medical record reviewer in Pakistan threaten to release a patient’s confidential records. Your medical privacy, and your right to privacy with your other personal information, including date of birth, social security number and address is yours, and no one has the right to use it.
However, when you are injured in an accident or at someone's home, the insurance company is going to tell you that they cannot settle your claim without your medical bills and records. But you need to be vigilent to protect your privacy.
Most adjusters will tell you that they "need" you to sign a medical authorization. (I even had an adjuster tell me that she needed me to have my client sign one and she would not settle the claim without it.) They will explain to you that it is important that you sign it and that they will not, or can not, settle your claim without it. And, here is where they are wrong.
They do not NEED a medical authorization. I know, they will pay the cost of copying your records so you do not have to pay it (of course, your doctor probably won’t charge you to copy the records anyway, so you do not save a lot of money). But, they will get every record under the sun.
Why do I bring this up? You need to be careful with your medical records. Your health insurer or medical facility may be sending work to other countries, and that may include your records. But, when you are in an auto accident, that insurance company could be contracting out with someone else to review your records. This release of records makes you vulnerable to situations like this.
This may not occur every day or once a month. But, if it happens to you once, then it is too much.
That is why I tell clients, and potential clients, never to sign a medical authorization. You should request your records and send them to the insurance company directly. Do not give the insurance company unfettered access to your medical records!
The University of California, San Francisco recently had a medical record reviewer in Pakistan threaten to release a patient’s confidential records. Your medical privacy, and your right to privacy with your other personal information, including date of birth, social security number and address is yours, and no one has the right to use it.
However, when you are injured in an accident or at someone's home, the insurance company is going to tell you that they cannot settle your claim without your medical bills and records. But you need to be vigilent to protect your privacy.
Most adjusters will tell you that they "need" you to sign a medical authorization. (I even had an adjuster tell me that she needed me to have my client sign one and she would not settle the claim without it.) They will explain to you that it is important that you sign it and that they will not, or can not, settle your claim without it. And, here is where they are wrong.
They do not NEED a medical authorization. I know, they will pay the cost of copying your records so you do not have to pay it (of course, your doctor probably won’t charge you to copy the records anyway, so you do not save a lot of money). But, they will get every record under the sun.
Why do I bring this up? You need to be careful with your medical records. Your health insurer or medical facility may be sending work to other countries, and that may include your records. But, when you are in an auto accident, that insurance company could be contracting out with someone else to review your records. This release of records makes you vulnerable to situations like this.
This may not occur every day or once a month. But, if it happens to you once, then it is too much.
That is why I tell clients, and potential clients, never to sign a medical authorization. You should request your records and send them to the insurance company directly. Do not give the insurance company unfettered access to your medical records!
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