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FTC Red Flag rule that was to be implied on Healthcare industry on the August 1st 2009 has finally delayed further. It seems AMA is quite against this one as they are very sure about the prevention of health information through HIPAA. Here is a news feed.

The Red Flag Rules enforced by the Federal Trade Commission under the Fair and Accurate Credit (FACT) Act of 2003 require all financial institutions and creditors including physician offices, to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs. As per FTC guidelines, physicians who regularly bill their patients for services provided are considered creditors and required to comply with the Red flag rules. Although the rules originally scheduled for a November 1, 2008 compliance date, the FTC has now delayed the enforcement date of the Red Flags Rule until November 1, 2009 which follows two earlier extensions to May 1 and then later to August 1, 2009.

It is figured out by FTC that every year, about 9 million Americans becomes victim of identity theft. FTC announced an increase in the penalties from $2500 to $3500 per violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which covers Red Flag Rules, address discrepancy and associated sharing rules.

Resource: AMA

Jason Gaya