Medical Transcription Services: Ensure Confidentiality Of Patient Data

By Author: mtservices
Total Articles: 77
Comment this article

The Health and Human Services department has introduced the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) with the intention to prohibit any illegal usage of patient information. Your valuable patient data is kept highly confidential and safe with HIPAA compliant medical transcription services.

An HIPAA compliant medical transcription service provider ensures that the patient records are handled with great care. There are many such medical transcription companies offering medical transcription services to multi-specialty hospitals, individual physicians, long-term care facilities, nursing clinics, rehab centers, acute care clinics and group practices in the United States.

To maintain the confidentiality of all entrusted data, a reputable firm employs a team of professionals well-trained in implementing safety measures that safeguard the confidentiality of patient information against unlawful disclosure during data transfer. The workforce is screened and background checked thoroughly.

The staff members are made to sign a confidentiality agreement, which states that legal action will be taken ...
... against those who commit a breach of confidentiality regarding patient data. Transcriptionists deliver the completed transcripts safely and in a timely manner. You can obtain transcripts for a variety of medical records such as patient history and physical examination reports, procedure notes, progress notes, clinic notes, consultation, health, laboratory, scan, operative and X-ray reports, discharge summaries, follow-up notes, and more.

Maintaining the Security and Confidentiality of Patient Data

Reputable medical transcription outsourcing companies adopt several safety measures to ensure that the medical records they handle are secure.

• Computers are password protected

• Files are backed up on monthly basis

• Personnel are not allowed to bring in floppies/electronic devices including laptops, PDA, or written documents

• Security software is updated regularly

• Proper safety measures are implemented while transferring, receiving and storing electronically protected patient data

• Firewalls and antivirus software on all computers are updated on a regular basis

• Periodic technical evaluations to ensure that all systems meet specified security requirements

• The entire workforce is trained to maintain privacy, confidentiality and security

• All external drives including floppy disk drives and USB ports are disabled to prevent illegal copying of documents

• All lockers used for data storage are protected with passwords

• Prevents unauthorized alteration, deletion or revelation of patient's health related information

If you plan to go for medical transcription outsourcing, it is important to seek the services of an established medical transcription service provider that ensures total confidentiality for patient data.

About the Author:

As a medical transcription company, MTS Transcription Services knows the importance of maintaining confidentiality of all patient related records, and therefore we make every possible effort to help clients achieve HIPAA compliance medical transcription services within the timelines established by HIPAA regulations.