TransUnion Revenue Manager Addresses 'Red Flags Re...( CHICAGO Nov. 6 /- As financial in...),Health

CHICAGO, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- As financial institutions and other creditors prepare for the Federal Trade Commission's Red Flags Regulations, requiring, among other things, the implementation of an identity theft prevention program, TransUnion has enhanced its identity verification and authentication tools in its Revenue Manager solution to assist hospitals in complying with these guidelines.

The Red Flags Regulations, issued in October 2007 as the "final rule" to the FACT Act, Section 114, defines a "Red Flag" as a pattern, practice or activity that indicates the possible risk of identity theft. The regulations include 26 illustrative examples of Red Flags associated with potential identity theft. Examples include:

-- A consumer reporting agency provides notice of a credit freeze in response to a request for a consumer report

-- A consumer reporting agency provides a notice of address discrepancy

-- Personal information provided is inconsistent when compared against external information sources used by financial institution or creditor

"Identity theft is a serious issue, especially when it concerns the healthcare industry because such crimes not only have financial implications, but they can potentially cause safety concerns for patients," said Rod Bazzani, executive vice president of healthcare for TransUnion. "While TransUnion Revenue Manager already can assist hospitals with many aspects of the regulations, we have further enhanced our solution to alert our customers of these red flags even more prominently."

Identity theft has already had a great impact on the healthcare industry. According to the FTC, an estimated three percent of identity theft victims had their personal information used to obtain medical services by another person - impacting approximately 250,000 U.S. patients in 2005 and translating to $468 million in medical identity crimes per year.

To illustrate the gravity of the situation, Tran
'/>"/>