FTC to delay "Red Flags" enforcement until Nov. 1

I just received this Breaking News alert from Modern Physician:

Moving an Aug. 1 deadline, the Federal Trade Commission will wait until Nov. 1 to enforce a provision of the “red flags” rule that requires physicians and hospitals to adopt written plans for tracking and responding to indicators of identity theft in their billing operations.

FTC Announces Expanded Business Education Campaign on 'Red Flags' Rule

Here are a few relevant snippets:

To assist small businesses and other entities, the Federal Trade Commission staff will redouble its efforts to educate them about compliance with the "Red Flags" Rule and ease compliance by providing additional resources and guidance to clarify whether businesses are covered by the Rule and what they must do to comply. To give creditors and financial institutions more time to review this guidance and develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs, the FTC will further delay enforcement of the Rule until November 1, 2009.

To assist small businesses and other entities, the Federal Trade Commission staff will redouble its efforts to educate them about compliance with the "Red Flags" Rule and ease compliance by providing additional resources and guidance to clarify whether businesses are covered by the Rule and what they must do to comply. To give creditors and financial institutions more time to review this guidance and develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs, the FTC will further delay enforcement of the Rule until November 1, 2009.

The FTC’s Red Flags Web site, www.ftc.gov/redflagsrule, offers resources to help entities determine if they are covered and, if they are, how to comply with the Rule.

Why the delay? Read more at the FTC site here.