The Next Big Offering from Wealth Management and Accounting Firms: Medical Privacy Protection for High-Value Clients

Medical privacy breaches and the loss of data that accompanies them can lead to damaged reputations and financial difficulties. Your clients are often targeted at a higher rate than the rest of the population. You look after their wealth already—start looking after their medical data, too.

The accessibility of modern medical files is a relatively new phenomenon. Up until recently, these files were tangible folders kept in a box or archival area of a medical facility. Today, some medical documents may not even have a tangible form; they remain in digital format unless a patient requests a hard copy. 

Digital medical records have their benefits; they make it easier for patients, medical professionals, and insurance companies to obtain and review records and treatments. But these easily accessible digital files are also vulnerable to identity thieves and other bad actors.

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Medical Fraud Costs Clients More Than Money–It Costs Their Reputation

Medical privacy breaches … total in the billions of dollars per year, the lion’s share impacting households with high net worth.

The wealthy need medical attention like anyone else. It is their access to excellent healthcare that often makes them a target. They often carry exceptional insurance plans that unscrupulous individuals are willing to go to great lengths to gain access to.

Because your clients’ digital medical footprint can be exploited to obtain sensitive information, which can then be ransomed back, they have an even larger target on their back. Thieves and fraudsters may not just wish to use their health insurance to obtain diagnoses and treatments. They may be looking to hold medical records and the information associated with them for ransom, or otherwise use it to harm your clients.

Innovation in this industry is often rewarded … Keeping up with new threats makes you more appealing, particularly if you’re trying to attract additional clients.

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Wealth Management And Accounting Firms: The First Line Of Defense Against Medical Fraud

These are troubling issues, but they give your firm an opportunity to develop a competitive edge. If you haven’t considered adding medical billing and medical privacy protection to your offerings, there’s no better time than now to add this valuable undertaking to your portfolio.

Your wealthy clients simply have more to lose. We’ll discuss some of the risks associated with the breach of their medical privacy below, but in short, it’s not just the financial element you’re looking after; protecting their medical records also helps safeguard their reputation. 

By adding medical privacy to your repertoire, you’re also adding value to your services and strengthening your relationship with your clients. Innovation in this industry is often rewarded, particularly as we move toward an ever more digital future. Keeping up with new threats makes you more appealing to new clients and can make you stickier for your existing ones.

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Privacy in Crisis: The Risks That Can Cost Your High-Value Clients Millions

The wealthy are entitled to the same levels of privacy as everyone else, but that privacy is increasingly difficult to maintain. Privacy ensures some level of independence, allowing your high-value clients to live as they choose without worrying about their personal data being made public.

But as indicated above, the prevalence of digitized medical files provides an opportunity to access personal information, records, and often much more sensitive data that can be used to extort money from your client or damage their reputation. 

Here are two potential types of information that thieves can obtain if they successfully breach your clients’ digital medical files:

The most immediate concern may be financial, as obtaining medical records and insurance data can lead to insurance fraud or even ransom demands.

In the last year alone, Americans lost $325 billion due to insurance fraud or ransom, a disproportionate number of which were citizens of high net worth.

Related to insurance fraud is the possibility of medical identity theft, where a thief uses your client’s insurance information to obtain healthcare for themselves. As mentioned above, your clients likely have access to high-end medical plans and thus can obtain the best care possible. Many are willing to go to great lengths to obtain this level of care.

If your client is the victim of medical identity theft, the repercussions can go far beyond financial. The FTC warns that if their information mixes with your client’s, it can severely impact what kind of care your client receives. Conflicting diagnoses and prescriptions can lead to serious medical problems. 

Beyond all of this, however, is the potential threat to your client’s reputation.

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A Breach of Medical Privacy Can Have Devastating Consequences to Your Client’s Reputation

The fact of the matter is that your clients often have more to lose if the things they do and say in private are made public. The very nature of their high net worth makes their information and privacy regular targets. 

Medical breaches, if not caught quickly, can lead to further breaches of platforms and additional access to your clients’ data, including emails, phone records, text messages, and even photographs and videos that may go back years. This data might contain business transactions, family secrets, and other types of interactions that, if made public, can lead to scrutiny and ridicule. Your clients may find themselves ostracized from their social circles, targeted by the media, and lambasted across the internet. 

Damage control becomes difficult at this point, thanks to the sheer proliferation of information across the web. Even if a potential scandal fades from immediate memory, it can always be resurfaced with a quick search.

The consequences your client faces will ultimately impact your firm. A loss of prestige and business means a drop in revenue for them; they will have to re-assess their situation and may even part ways with your company.

How can you expand your services and become even more valuable? By providing healthcare peace of mind.

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When You Protect Your Clients’ Medical Records, You Protect Your Business

As the world becomes more digital, wealth management and accounting firms are in a natural position to step into a protective role. You may already be providing cybersecurity measures to your clients. How can you expand your services and become even more valuable? By providing healthcare peace of mind.

Privacy and medical histories and records have become assets in today’s world. You already steward a number of your client’s assets. Medical security—and the countless difficulties that can arise when it is compromised—should naturally fall under your purview.

“Constant monitoring of insurance transactions is key to stopping medical identity theft. In 2017 alone, 30% of medical identity theft victims had no idea when the theft actually occurred. Most people just do not have the time or training to review all their medical transactions or chase down the necessary contacts if something seems amiss.”

Scott Speranza, CEO HealthLock

Managing your clients’ medical bills and offering medical security generally makes you more attractive and valuable to potential clients. This relatively new service is increasingly critical in the world. As more wealthy individuals become aware of how vulnerable their medical records are, and how dangerous a breach can be to their reputation and finances, they will look for wealth management and accounting firms that can offer the peace of mind that comes with knowing their personal assets are closely guarded.

In short, if their decision is between your firm and one that doesn’t offer medical security, they will likely select you.

Partnering With The Right Company Protects Your Client And Your Wealth Management Or Accounting Firm

The medical industry requires highly-specialized knowledge and training that does not always coincide with your current staff’s capabilities. This knowledge includes interpreting billing and coding, communicating with healthcare and insurance professionals, and understanding both medical needs and how insurance companies work. 

Properly training your current staff or account managers, or hiring additional qualified employees can take a great deal of time, leaving your clients vulnerable in the meanwhile. Instead of losing weeks and months trying to expand your staff, partner with a company that possesses an innate understanding of the way medical privacy and the insurance world function. 

When you partner with a company that specializes in medical privacy protection, you’re providing your high-value clients with the defenses they need and the excellent service they expect. Your wealth management or accounting firm is already busy; the right partner will wholly dedicate themselves to looking after your client’s medical privacy, leaving your account managers to focus on their other duties.

The right organization will monitor the medical transactions of your clients and can step in when something looks amiss. In addition, they regularly communicate with insurance companies, healthcare providers, and medical facilities to prevent medical bill fraud and overcharges. 

In the last 10 years alone, inAssist has saved their clients hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some have referred to this era as the information age: information is everywhere, and everyone wants it. At odds with this effort to obtain information is the increased desire for privacy. 

Your clients have a great deal to lose if their personal data is exposed; that’s why every day they trust you to look after their assets and best interests. By adding medical privacy protection to your services, you aren’t just looking after finances and properties; you’re looking after their health and reputation, and those two things are still worth everything.