Know Your Patient – Deterring Identity Theft in the Healthcare Industry

The responsibility for managing and protecting the most private data falls to the healthcare industry. It has been forced to adapt its operating procedures as a result of the epidemic and associated digitalization. The healthcare industry is undergoing a revolution, from online prescription sales to digital visits. However, these convenience-driven changes present opportunities for scammers. They use a number of methods to get false healthcare benefits.

As a result, medical institutions must employ patient identification techniques to verify that only qualified patients seek services. The same applies to records that have not been verified. As a result, in order to comply with regulations and preserve public health, the healthcare industry must use trustworthy patient identification systems. In addition, the blog provides more Know Your Patient regulations information online.

Protocols to Verify Patient Identity 

Patient verification is no longer just a precautionary measure in the online age; it is now a rigorous regulatory requirement. Since the healthcare sector started to provide virtual assistance, scammers have adopted cutting-edge strategies to make money off of medical services. Those who commit cybercrime also commit data breaches in places where it is simple to access patients’ electronic records. They are able to gather reliable information this way, which they can then use to make up insurance claims, get paid, and pay for expensive medical procedures. 

Regulatory organizations are revising their stances on the Know Your Patient requirements in response to this increase. They strictly enforce a number of laws, including HITECH, HIPAA, and EMTALA. The guidelines require that medical facilities use patient identification and protect the digital records of patients. To address this, they must offer practical solutions. If users want to validate their identity with AI patient verification services, they must follow these steps:

1. The first stage of the system involves displaying an online form that asks patients to provide personally identifiable information.
2. After entering their information, users have the choice of either physically presenting their documents to the camera or uploading actual images of them. 
3. A third stage of the patient verification process uses OCR tools to extract information from documents that are examined by the system to detect forgeries. 
4. Then, after analyzing facial features and cross-referencing the data from the form with any uploaded documents, the system confirms the patient’s identity. 
5. To make sure the patients are really there behind the screen, the system runs liveness detection tests.
6. The system not only performs other checks but also confirms the patient’s age.
7. If the results are trustworthy, they are shown on the screen, recorded in the patient’s file, and made accessible to registered patients.

3 Benefits of Online Patient Verification

In order to respond to patients’ concerns and safeguard their health, healthcare providers are increasingly using virtual assistants. Patients who want to save money can order prescription drugs online and have doctors come to their homes. However, these developments also bring with them more serious issues. Consequently, Medicare centers must-have tools for patient verification. The following advantages are also available:

1. Patient Tracking and Monitoring

Keeping tabs on and observing their actions are additional benefits of finding patient remedies online. Healthcare facilities are constantly changing how they provide medical help. The healthcare industry is changing as a result of innovations like EHRs and telemedicine. Contrarily, con artists and children use cunning strategies to make money and violate the rights of legitimate customers. As a result, healthcare organizations need to establish processes for patient age verification in order to prevent fraud.

1. Data Privacy

External breaches are more likely to happen in Medicare facilities without reliable patient verification procedures. Fraudsters steal information from medical records, access it illegally, and then use it to their advantage. Patients relocating to new areas for better care also increases data vulnerability. 

Healthcare professionals need AI-driven tools with patient identity verification capabilities to address these issues. Furthermore, they provide current record keeping, which lowers the possibility of a misdiagnosis.

1. Decreases Physical Visits

The healthcare sector is now operating differently than it did in the past as a result of the development of telehealth and online health assistance. Video consultations as well as online pharmacies have taken the place of conventional consultative settings. When buying drugs and getting medical care, fraudsters use the identities and payment information of real patients. 

Therefore, pharmacies must perform ID verification in order to conduct real-time authentication. AI-driven patient verification techniques can use to identify scammers during the onboarding process.

Key Takeaways

Protecting the healthcare industry from threats from outside fraud is becoming more and more important. Although there are some risks associated with digitization, tools for patient verification that are powered by AI aid in limiting access for fraudsters. Regulatory authorities perform routine inspections and enforce laws to make sure this occurs in every way. The healthcare sector must incorporate automated Know Your Patient procedures in order to uphold standards and offer better patient experiences.