Prevent Identity Theft at the Doctor's Office
When you go to the doctor's office, it is important to take steps to prevent identity theft. Unfortunately, when you are not feeling well, many things can escape your attention. In addition, when you go to the doctor's office, you will need to bring in proof of identity, as well as money to pay your bill. As a result, you cannot prevent identity theft in ways that you might if you were visiting a store.
That said, there are still some steps to take in order to prevent identity theft at the doctor's office. As with any other physical location that you will visit, only bring in exactly what you need to accomplish your goals. If you are not going to write a check, do not bring in your checkbook. Ideally, all you should bring in is enough money to pay your bill, and whatever from of ID you need in order to check in.
Aside from this, you may also want to ask a friend or family member to come along with you. Even though the staff in a medical office do everything they can to ensure a safe environment, pick pockets, and people with certain psychiatric disorders may see you as an easy target. If you are feeling sleepy, or not quite as alert as normal, it is especially important to have someone else that you can trust on hand.
The negligent attitudes of insurance companies when it comes to paying your medical bills makes it very difficult to prevent identity theft. Because the doctor is not getting paid for his/her services, you will probably be told about it each time you visit the doctor. Unfortunately, these conversations can entail everything from asking you to confirm your social security number to you date of birth.
If you are standing in the waiting room, and having this conversation through a glass window, it is important to keep your voice as low as possible. The bottom line is this; unless you whisper, everyone in the waiting room can hear you. If at all possible, it would be best to ask the receptionist or biller if you can have this discussion in a location that offers more privacy. It would also be a good idea to let your medical insurance carrier know that you are highly offended by the excuses they use in order to refuse to pay claims in a prompt and fair manner. It is also important to let them know that their negligent practices create situations that you feel undermine your personal efforts to prevent identity theft.
When you are not feeling well, the last thing you want to think about are ways to prevent identity theft. Unfortunately, protecting yourself from these issues is a lifelong task. Even if you are trying to straighten out an insurance issue at a doctor's office, you will need to take steps to prevent identity theft. For all other situations, it is best to bring along a friend that can act as a second pair of eyes and ears in the event a criminal is also in the waiting room with you.