A new Corrections program could put your medical records into the hands of criminals, according to a Local 6 News report.

Video

Program Could Put Medical Records In Criminal's Hands

An investigation by Problem Solver Wendy Saltzman uncovered two years of top secret negotiations between Florida's Moore Haven Correctional Facility and Allied Healthcare Services of Ohio. The program would use the prison population as cheap labor to transcribe the confidential medical records of people outside the prison walls.

The information about the controversial medical transcription program was disclosed to Local 6 News after weeks of investigation.

Corrections Privatization Executive Director Alan Duffee signed off on the program last year, as a representative of the state, according to the report. He admitted to having some reservations about the program, but was assured Florida residents would be protected.

"We wanted to make sure the inmates would not be reviewing any medical records of a person in the state of Florida," Duffee said.

Residents of the other 49 states would still be fair game, Local 6 News reported. However, in Duffee's words, the program also had another added measure of security -- the institution would screen the inmates to find the best possible criminals for the job. "For a lack of a better word, they are the best of the inmates there," Duffee said.

Special Agent Wayne Ivey, of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who investigates identity theft for the FDLE, said one in five Americans is the victim of fraud.

"The potential in a situation like this for someone's information to get into the wrong hands. "It's actually being put into the wrong hands from the very beginning." Ivey said. "They're inmates. They have committed some type of felony crime if they are in a state institution."

Certified Medical Transcriptionist Traci Lutter applied for a job at Moore Haven, supervising the inmate program. She withdrew her application when she realized she'd be helping inmates gain access to people's names, drugs, and valuable information. "I'm sure that the prisoners are not ethical enough to keep the information private," Lutter said.

The inmates would make 2 cents for every line of they transcribe. In comparison, a certified medical transcriptionist in the free world makes approximately 8 cents a line.

"I feel it's trying to get the cheapest labor, looking for the dollar," Lutter said.

And the prison industry would be making a $215,000 profit over two years, according to the report. The possible expense, Lutter said, is patient safety. "There are a lot of errors that can be made, potentially fatal errors," she said.

The day after Saltzman contacted the Moore Haven Correctional Facility, officials said they were canceling the medical transcription contract. But three weeks later, the job posting was still listed on its corporate Web site.

The corrections administration at Moore Haven refused to speak to Local 6 on camera, but did issue a statement, saying: "The GEO Group has decided not to proceed with the proposed program and will not consider medical transcription for any future industry programs at its correctional facilities."

Again, that decision was only made following our investigation. And Duffee still defends medical transcription as a viable option at other state facilities. He told Local 6 News, "If safeguards can be implemented so that the public is not at risk, then I think it would be an excellent program."

In fact, our investigation has discovered this program has been picked up by two corrections facilities already, one in Ohio and another in Texas. Lutter said it's unlikely hospitals or patients across the country know their records could be transcribed by criminals. "I couldn't fathom the idea that prisoners would have any kind of personal information on me or my family," she said.

If you would like to contact Wendy Saltzman, she can be reached at wsaltzman@local6.com.
.