RETAIL CREDIT COMPANY INFORMATION FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS • HOME OFFICE ATLANTA, GEORGIA TO ANY PHYSICIAN AND/OR MEDICAL SOCIETY OR ASSOCIATION: I am writing concerning the involvement of Retail Credit Company in the relationship between doctor, patient, and insurance company. As background, we point with pride to more than forty years of experience contacting doctors in connection with insurance transactions. We are currently making medical contacts at the rate of almost one half million per year. At no time in our history have we had our handling of privileged medical information legally questioned. We understand and fully conform to the ethics of the privilege, in theory as well as principle. Our Underwriting Medical History service is designed to aid in alleviating two chronic problems. Specifically, this refers to the problem of delay in processing applications that is faced by the insurance companies and, of more concern to you, the problem faced by the doctor with the ever-increasing paper load. Our willingness to contact the doctor (nurse or secretary if preferred) at his convenience is the first advantage. In addition, we save the doctor or his staff the time required to read and diagnose the insurance company letter, dictate a response, and then have it transcribed and mailed back to the insurance company. Some doctors have expressed concern over the possible misuse of this privileged information once it enters the hands of a third-party agency like Retail Credit Company. Retail Credit Company policy does not allow us to retain a copy of the Underwriting Medical History Report or any of the medical information it contains. In acting simply as couriers between the appropriate doctor and the insurance company in this service, our files contain only a control sheet listing the source of the information and the date it was sent to our customer. As further evidence of our faith in our own procedures and our willingness to cooperate with the medical profession, we are willing to sign an agreement with any doctor, clinic, or society, which agreement places full responsibility on Retail Credit Company for the proper handling by us of the privileged information once it comes into our possession. We would very much appreciate the opportunity to discuss this further in person and at your convenience. We recognize and appreciate the problem of the doctor and we are available to do whatever is practical and necessary to aid him with what can become a real burden, especially for the physician handling a heavy patient load and having a small staff. The continued flow of medical history information to the insurance companies at the least inconvenience to the individual doctor is our primary objective. KEJ:VJL Yours truly, B.B. Jenkins K. E. Jenkins, Vice President Operating Manager WHO IS THE RETAIL CREDIT COMPANY? Retail Credit Company began operations in Atlanta, Georgia in 1899. Today, the company provides a wide spectrum of reports for business decisions about individuals, places, and things. These reports play a vital role in the decision making processes of business and in our overall economy. Canadian operations were begun in 1919. Individual corporate identity was established on January 1, 1968, when Retail Credit Company of Canada, Ltd., was created. More than 8,000 full-time salaried people are employed by Retail Credit Company. These men and women, backed up by several thousand part-time and hourly rate people, work from 1,200 locations throughout North America. Over 150,000 contacts are made for our 62,000 customers each day. WHAT EXPERIENCE DO WE HAVE IN HANDLING We have more than 40 years of experience in contacting physicians in connection with insurance transactions. We are currently making medical contacts at the rate of almost one half million per year. At no time have we had our handling of privileged medical information legally questioned. We conform to the ethics of the privilege--in theory, principle, and fact. WHAT ASSURANCES DOES THE MEDICAL HANDLED? We are willing to sign a hold harmless agreement with any medical sources, accepting full responsibility for the handling of this information once it comes into our possession. As a matter of policy, we do not retain copies of Underwriting Medical History Reports or any of the information they contain. HOW DOES THE MEDICAL PROFESSION BENEFIT? Our Underwriting Medical History service is designed to help the doctor, the consumer-client, and the insurance company. We help the doctor by relieving him of some of the paper load which is an inescapable part of today's world. The ways in which we assist the insurance company and the consumer are by simplifying and expediting the issue process through providing an unbiased means of communication for both parties. The Retail Credit Company has had many years experience in contacting Doctors, Hospitals, Clinics, and other entities and institutions to obtain confidential medical information on patients in behalf of our insurance company customers. Although we know of no instance during that time of any litigation against any misuse by Retail Credit Company of such confidential information, we recognize your concern about such exposure. We do contact you in connection with our Underwriting Medical History report, which is secured from us by our insurance company customers in connection with your patients' application for life or health insurance. Therefore, in order to obtain such underwriting medical history information for the underwriting purposes of our insurance company customers, upon request and presentment of proper medical authorization to you and your staff, Retail Credit Company will indemnify you against any loss you may sustain occasioned solely by your providing us with such medical information, and by the use by Retail Credit Company of it, providing that you immediately bring to our attention any claim against you covered by this letter. The medical information covered by this agreement will be provided by Retail Credit Company only to that insurance company named in the authorization presented to you, and to no other insurance company. Such medical information will not be made a part of our files, as we do not retain a copy of this report at all for any purpose. E. P. Trotochaud, |