Who's Watching the Watchers?

I'm the kind of individual that believes if I have to spend the night in the hospital, I shouldn't take anything of value with me (iPods, cellphones, laptops, etc.). These only serve as temptations to those with lesser scruples, causing them to wait until I'm out of the room, in the restroom, or fast asleep to sneak in and help these items grow legs. If it's valuable, leave it at home. It's unfortunate that we can't take the same approach with our identities.

Today, some delightful health care billing worker in Los Angeles has been accused of stealing the identities of more than 1,000 patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and using those identities to steal from insurance companies. What a black eye for the medical community. The former employee, James Allen Wilson, is accused of taking around $69,000, but the investigation continues. Read more here, or here.

I can't help but wonder if Mr. Allen was ever properly screened before obtaining employment at the medical center? Even if he was, he may have had a, pardon the pun, clean bill of health prior to this event. Regardless, I hope that Cedars-Sinai Medical Center takes proper precautions in the future to ensure such an event never happens again. Screen, screen, screen.

ID theft is growing rapidly and it can happen any time, any place. Have you taken measures to ensure your identity remains healthy? If not, Merchants Information Solutions identity theft product, SmartIDentity+, can help you protect yourself and your family by offering email alerts, credit monitoring, identity monitoring, and a fully-managed recovery solution in case you ever become a victim. Cover your bases. Make sure someone is watching the watchers.