Other Sources of Information

1
Other Sources of Information

• Module 5
• Section 3

2
Credit Bureaus

• Provide a central storehouse of information used
  to evaluate applicants for credit
• Data supplied by banks, stores, and other
  businesses
• Public records - lawsuits, liens, bankruptcies

3
Regulation of Credit Bureaus

• Regulated by federal government
• Fair credit reporting act
• Can give information to employers, government,
  and insurance companies, and those who need it
  for legitimate purposes involving customer

4
Proposed Changes

• Legal right to get a copy of their own report for
  free, and a list of those who have requested it
• Prohibit employers from obtaining reports without
  persons permission
• or at all except for special kinds of jobs

5
Medical Records

• Data is personal and sensitive
• Used for marketing purposes
• Hard to restrict due to varying laws in different
  states
• Insurance benefits require that we tell all

6
Medical Information Bureau

• Non profit organization
• Founded by insurance companies
• Deter insurance fraud
• Collect information

7
Privacy and Proposals for Health Care Reform

• Creation of government database containing health
  and personal info
• Requirement that a report on every medical visit
  be sent to a national network
• Requirement for national ID card

8
Benefits of Reform

• Access to information when traveling
• Ease of researchers to get information
• Cheaper record systems
• Provide better privacy protection than private
  health care providers

9
Problems with Reform

• Threat to privacy
• Abuse of information made possible by large
  databases and ID cards
• Errors could prevent medical care
• Easier access by law enforcement
• SSN is used as identifier - broad use

10
Technical and Management Protections

• Each authorized user has unique ID code and
  password
• Restrict operations of different users in areas
  where they do not need to go
• Use audit trail to track usage by workers
• Computer records reduce handling and potential
  reading

11
Privacy and Junk Mail

• Arguments for
• Reduces overhead, and therefore cost of products
• People buy or it would stop
• Population too large to cater to everyones
  individual desires
• Arguments against
• Inconvenient intrusion on daily lives
• No consent to whom the information is sold