SELECTSHRED | IMPORTANT REASONS FOR DOCUMENT SHREDDING

The media, politicians, experts, and professionals are all saying it — Florida’s economy is growing and getting stronger. What that means is that no matter how insistent you are that your office, profession, or industry is paperless, the truth is that you will be generating a lot of paper.

Realtors, appraisers, lawyers, accountants, doctors, engineers, etc. are all busy. They are surrounded by paper. Desks are full of paper, boxes are on the floor, and boxes are in storage. They are scanning to digitize information but that scanned paper must still be secured, destroyed, and disposed of promptly and responsibly. http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/17/3633412/south-florida-economy-growing.html

Instead of holding your old files until there is no space left in the office or storage, consider shredding your sensitive information promptly. Here are three good reasons why you should shred — the law and liability, your customers, and your reputation.

Federal laws and regulations require you to protect confidential information even when you no longer need it. FACTA for credit report information, HIPAA for healthcare information, and GLBA for financial information require shredding of sensitive documents to meet compliance. Otherwise, you might face daunting fines.

Customers, clients, and patients must have their information protected from identity theft and their privacy should be also protected. Collecting customer, client, and patient data brings with it the responsibility to protect that data from its collection and retention until it is no longer needed.

Your reputation is priceless. Therefore, shredding your sensitive information not only meets compliance with federal laws and protect your customers, clients, and patients, it protects you from data breaches, protects you from dumpster divers (who are not only looking for customer data but could also be looking for your trade secrets) and reporters looking for a story about your business.

From Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Rio, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens — there is nothing casual about discarding confidential information. If you want to avoid fines, protect your customers, protect your reputation, and protect your proprietary information…you must shred.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

SELECTSHRED | SHREDDING IN STUART SHREDDING IN PALM CITY

SELECTSHRED — FIVE COMMON UNFOUNDED OBJECTIONS TO USING A SHREDDING SERVICE

Throughout the Treasure Coast and the Palm Beaches, there are five common but unfounded objections that are repeated quite frequently.

1. We Are Paperless. Are you really paperless? Just look around your own office. There is paper on your desks. Boxes of paper are in the office or in storage. The promise of a paperless world has been around for decades but it is not here yet. Lawyers, accountants, doctors, engineers, realtors, appraisers, etc. — you are still producing more paper than ever. If the paper has confidential information, there are federal regulations (FACTA/HIPAA/GLBA) that require you to safeguard, destroy, and discard responsibly all the confidential information in your custody. Even paper that you don’t consider as confidential should be shredded first and then recycled. Help the environment by keeping paper out of the landfills. All shredded paper is recycled into new paper products. If you are regularly scanning your confidential documents, those documents should be secured and shredded as soon as possible by a NAID AAA certified shredding company. http://www.attorneyatwork.com/step-right-up-to-the-paperless-law-office/

2. We Use Office Shredders. What can we say about this objection? At least you are shredding. However, the office shredder can never afford you the required legal documentation to show that you have a proper document security program in place and legal protection in case of an alleged or actual information security breach. What works is the regular use of a shredding service and receiving a certificate of destruction. Also, shredded materials from your office shredder so neatly put in plastic bags and placed in the trash have all the information you need to protect in a neat bundle waiting for the dumpster divers. A dumpster diver is not just someone looking for credit card data, etc., but it could be your competitor in search of your proprietary information or a reporter looking for the next big story.

3. We Don’t Shred Much. Here is where you are missing the big picture. A shredding service can be customized to fit your needs whether you accumulate large quantities of confidential documents in one month or in a few months. The importance of using a shredding service is that you have a system in place to safeguard your confidential documents and a system that can identify red flags, deter identity theft, protect your company from unnecessary legal action, and avoid fines. Also, don’t think that you need to fill a shred truck to effectively use a shredding service.

4. We Are A Small Office. No office is too small to have a shredding service because no office is too small to have an information security breach. No office is too small to be fined for not complying with federal regulations. No office is too small to suffer from the consequences of lost reputation. Even if it is only an alleged data breach, you could face severe fines because you have no record (certificate of destruction from a reputable shredding company) to show that you did all you could do to protect the confidential information in your custody.

5. We Can’t Afford A Shredding Service. Don’t dismiss the idea of a shredding service due to costs because you have to watch the budget. What you really can’t afford is federal fines, liability, lost productivity, and lost reputation. Besides, a shredding service is less costly than employees’ time spent shredding.

From Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Rio, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, change your attitude and protect your assets — your confidential information from retention to disposal is not trash — it’s as important as any other asset in your office.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

SELECTSHRED | PAPER SHREDDING SERVICE IN PALM BEACH AND THE TREASURE COAST

SELECTSHRED—WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN BURNING CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

All across the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach—from Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Rio, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens—people have said “we burn our confidential documents.” To name a few, lawyers, doctors, realtors and real estate appraisers have said it. They say that they don’t shred much and try to make an event of burning their sensitive information as they sit by the fireplace with a glass of wine or have a bonfire in the yard.

Thankfully, we have encountered those who have tried this practice of document destruction and finally gave up and sought the help of a shredding service. They have realized that with burning, part of the paper is not burned—leaving white paper with legible print, and part of the paper is scorched—leaving darkened paper with legible print. For the process to be complete, everything must be reduced to ashes. That’s right, burn and burn again…and again. Do you really have that much time or do you ever want to have that much time on your hands?

Burning, like the office shredder, is time-consuming and inefficient. Although burning is considered as an acceptable form of document destruction, does it really afford you the legal protection that you would need in the event of an alleged information security breach? Does the solo burn event or group burn event with friends and family provide you with a Certificate of Destruction for your record? Some would have you believe that a shredding company is too expensive for getting rid of confidential documents on a regular or one-time basis. However, a NAID AAA certified company provides a secure, economical and convenient service that provides you with the necessary compliance for federal regulations such as HIPAA, FACTA, and GLBA.

Before you contemplate your next burn event, call your local shredding service and see how efficiently and effectively this service can do the job. Let’s think division of labor—you generate the paper and let the professionals shred it. Instead, you can have that wine beside the fireplace or the fire pit in the yard to celebrate that your sensitive information is all gone and you have proof (Certificate of Destruction). You are also helping the environment because all of your shredded material will be recycled to be reused in the form of new paper products.

As we like to say—Protecting People and Preserving the Environment—think about that before you start your next fire. Reach out to your local shredding company and find out how easy it can make the document destruction process for commercial and residential customers.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

SELECTSHRED | SHREDDING IN STUART SHREDDING IN PALM CITY

SELECTSHRED-WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT

The raw numbers are staggering, as reported by the Ponemom Institute, that an estimated 1.84 million victims in the U.S. are affected by medical identity theft and that out-of-pocket medical costs incurred by medical identity theft victims are more than $12 billion. However, the consequences of medical identity theft are not only an inconvenience of money, time, and effort. The Ponemon Institute said that when personal medical records are compromised, it can result in misdiagnoses, wrong treatments or wrong prescriptions. These inaccurate medical records are all difficult to correct and threaten lives. It is also suggested that we become victims of medical identity theft by sharing personal health records with family members or friends or that these same individuals take this information without consent.  http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/medical-identity-theft-numbers-grow

Medical identity theft is about more than the hassle of time and cost to fix a credit report and get our lives back because our identity was stolen. The inaccurate information in our medical records can cost our lives. We are urged to check the explanation of benefits and report any unfamiliar claims.  We already know that we should never throw any medical records in the trash where dumpster divers can take the information for criminal use of our sensitive information. It is always prudent to shred any documents with our names, addresses, social security numbers, and health insurance numbers as well as all confidential information that can be misused in the wrong hands.

For all of us that are concerned about our safety and security, from Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Rio, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Sewall’s Point, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Jupiter Island, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, remember that we should never think twice about properly shredding and discarding our confidential documents because the risks are too great not to do so. Not only is a good credit history at risk but our own lives are at risk when medical identity theft is involved.

Richard & Gloria Kinkead

SelectShred, Inc.

T: (772) 463-3166

info@selectshred.com

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, including from North Palm Beach to Fort Pierce

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING Port St. Lucie

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING Stuart

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING Palm City

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING Jupiter

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING West Palm Beach

MOBILE SHREDDING COMPANY SERVING Palm Beach Gardens

WHY SMALL MEDICAL FACILITIES SHOULD EVALUATE THEIR document destruction program and SHREDDING POLICIES

Unfortunately, many small medical offices, including dentists’ offices, believe they are too small to use a shredding service and that the office shredder will suffice. Due to the awareness of identity theft, concerned citizens are reporting directly to law enforcement whenever they see medical records in the trash. On the other hand, the criminal-minded sees the opportunity that can come from having access to names, addresses, birthdates, diagnoses, and social security numbers.

A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report on medical identity theft stated that a thief may use patient names or health insurance numbers to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, file claims with insurance providers, or get other care. The FTC also said that if the thief’s health information is mixed with a patient’s information, the patient’s treatment, insurance and payment records, and credit report may be affected.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires that medical staff be trained in confidential handling and destruction of patient information. All major healthcare centers, hospitals, outpatient facilities, insurance groups, and pharmacies must show compliance with HIPAA federal regulations.

A third party shredding service provides legal protection and proof of HIPAA compliance. Facilities with properly trained staff, a document destruction program in place, and a recurring shredding service are in the best position to combat medical identity theft, stop medical data breach, prevent HIPAA violations, and protect themselves from crippling penalties.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can impose penalties of $100 per violation and up to an annual maximum of $1.5 million. Criminal penalties can be up to $50,000 and one year in prison for obtaining or disclosing protected health information (PHI).

 DID YOU KNOW? The 2013 Survey on Medical Identity Theft conducted by Ponemon Institute  estimated that medical identity theft affects 1.84 million people in the U.S. and that healthcare organizations are just starting to recognize that medical identity theft is not just a patient problem but it is also a problem for healthcare organizations.

http://healthitsecurity.com/2013/09/17/how-can-healthcare-providers-prevent-medical-identity-fraud/