Only reliable transcription companies offer HIPAA compliant medical transcription service. Hospitals or healthcare practices must ensure that they are handing over their transcription tasks to a medical transcription company that strictly adherers to HIPAA norms.
HIPAA was formulated to ensure protection of patient identity, health information and individual rights through security measures. HIPAA also ensures that the PHI (Protected Health Information) record is not disclosed. Any failure in maintaining HIPAA standards by the transcription company will have a major bearing on the healthcare practice or physician that has outsourced to that company. HIPAA compliance is crucial for the following reasons:
Medical ethics involves having respect for the privacy of a patient’s information. A doctor or a hospital or any kind of healthcare practice with a conscience and sense of morality needs to understand that the patient and his/her loved ones trust them with their information.
STRINGENT LAW
Federal law is very strict with regard to HIPAA, a law that was enacted by the US Congress in 1996. Any violation in HIPAA can bring in serious legal penalties. Violators can be imposed criminal as well as civil charges. If the company you are outsourcing medical transcription to fails in ensuring patient privacy, you, as the doctor or healthcare practice that outsourced the task, will still have to share the responsibility.
RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT
HIPAA compliance is also important to prevent theft of medical identity. Unless the medical transcription company has steps in place to protect the data they receive to transcribe, there could be a theft of medical identity. Medical documents containing diagnosis of the disease or disorder, details about the patient’s health condition, lifestyle habits that contributed to the disease, prescribed medication, treatment, reaction to the treatment, etc can be acquired and misused by third parties causing serious repercussions for the doctor, the healthcare practice or hospital, and the patient.
Damaged reputation is hard to rebuild. Medical transcription companies that do not ensure HIPAA compliance could cost the physician his reputation, leading to loss of patients and income, and the aforementioned legal penalties. In other words, it means big trouble.
Potential HIPAA Violations Can Lead to Heavy Civil Money Penalties
In a recent case, a managed care company had to agree to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services $1.7 million to settle potential violations of 1966 HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. The company had failed to implement appropriate safety measures as required by HIPAA Security Rule for authorizing access to the on-line application database. It had not performed proper technical evaluation when the software of its information systems was upgraded, and did not have technical safeguards in place to ensure that only authorized personnel had access to electronic protected health information maintained in its application database.
Medical practices and healthcare centers have faced such penalties too for not ensuring HIPAA compliance. So take care to assign your transcription tasks only to a medical transcription company that sticks to HIPAA obligations. HIPAA compliant medical transcription service will ensure that such incidents do not happen.
How a Medical Transcription Outsourcing Company Ensures Safety of Patient Information
A reliable medical transcription company will ensure that it has measures in place for ensuring confidentiality and privacy of patient information which is demanded by the HIPAA Act. The measures taken to patient data and medical records by HIPAA compliant medical transcription companies would include:
HIPAA was formulated to ensure protection of patient identity, health information and individual rights through security measures. HIPAA also ensures that the PHI (Protected Health Information) record is not disclosed. Any failure in maintaining HIPAA standards by the transcription company will have a major bearing on the healthcare practice or physician that has outsourced to that company. HIPAA compliance is crucial for the following reasons:
- It ensures compliance with medical ethics
- It is a law requirement
- It prevents medical identity theft
Medical ethics involves having respect for the privacy of a patient’s information. A doctor or a hospital or any kind of healthcare practice with a conscience and sense of morality needs to understand that the patient and his/her loved ones trust them with their information.
STRINGENT LAW
Federal law is very strict with regard to HIPAA, a law that was enacted by the US Congress in 1996. Any violation in HIPAA can bring in serious legal penalties. Violators can be imposed criminal as well as civil charges. If the company you are outsourcing medical transcription to fails in ensuring patient privacy, you, as the doctor or healthcare practice that outsourced the task, will still have to share the responsibility.
RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT
HIPAA compliance is also important to prevent theft of medical identity. Unless the medical transcription company has steps in place to protect the data they receive to transcribe, there could be a theft of medical identity. Medical documents containing diagnosis of the disease or disorder, details about the patient’s health condition, lifestyle habits that contributed to the disease, prescribed medication, treatment, reaction to the treatment, etc can be acquired and misused by third parties causing serious repercussions for the doctor, the healthcare practice or hospital, and the patient.
Damaged reputation is hard to rebuild. Medical transcription companies that do not ensure HIPAA compliance could cost the physician his reputation, leading to loss of patients and income, and the aforementioned legal penalties. In other words, it means big trouble.
Potential HIPAA Violations Can Lead to Heavy Civil Money Penalties
In a recent case, a managed care company had to agree to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services $1.7 million to settle potential violations of 1966 HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. The company had failed to implement appropriate safety measures as required by HIPAA Security Rule for authorizing access to the on-line application database. It had not performed proper technical evaluation when the software of its information systems was upgraded, and did not have technical safeguards in place to ensure that only authorized personnel had access to electronic protected health information maintained in its application database.
Medical practices and healthcare centers have faced such penalties too for not ensuring HIPAA compliance. So take care to assign your transcription tasks only to a medical transcription company that sticks to HIPAA obligations. HIPAA compliant medical transcription service will ensure that such incidents do not happen.
How a Medical Transcription Outsourcing Company Ensures Safety of Patient Information
A reliable medical transcription company will ensure that it has measures in place for ensuring confidentiality and privacy of patient information which is demanded by the HIPAA Act. The measures taken to patient data and medical records by HIPAA compliant medical transcription companies would include:
- Firewalls and filters for preventing unauthorized individuals from accessing the computers
- Password protection for all the data
- File transfer with high tech 256-bit encryption technology
- 24-hour security monitoring
- Random checks and audits
- Signing of non-disclosure agreement for all the staff dealing with patient information
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