My doctor's office made my pic first time I went there, about 6 yrs ago. I asked why & they said they do it for all patients. We have a lot of illegal aliens in my area, so I'm guessing that's the root of part of it. I have Medicare & I think I heard they do it for all Medicare & Medicaid patients. Don't quote me on this about Medicare, but different doctor's offices may be lax & not do it. I'd rather they know me by face & by name.
Last year, I kept getting bills from an Ambulance Co in a city two cities away from me, then bills from an ENT Clinic. The Ambulance Co said, didn't we transport you to a Rehab Facility in B'ham, AL on such & such date? I kept telling the lady, NO NO NO! The ENT Clinic kept sending me bills & I also called Medicare. The lady at Medicare told me I'd have to get the doctor's office to send them the changes before they could get the charges taken off my records. There is another person with the same name as mine, but I don't have an s on the end of mine & she does. The computers at Insurance Cos including Medicare/Medicaid, All-Kids, etc. have lists of patients in their State & some clerks won't scroll down to compare Birthdays to get the right patient; however, some office personnel will stop at the first name.
Recently, I received an e-mail from what looked like UPS (United Parcel Service), said I had a package to arrive in 2-3 days. I opened it & somewhere I remember seeing USPS (Post Office), but should not have opened the e-mail because it gave my computer a bad virus. Luckily my Son was able to retrieve all my documents & pics, so now I am suspicious & don't open these kind of e-mails.