Understanding The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act

By Author: Dheeru Singh
Total Articles: 11
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When it comes to hospital medical transcription, transcribers don’t just translate audio to text; there are also some legal matters that have to be put into consideration when working. As a transcriber, whether you are working at home or at a transcription company, it is important to take note of the HIPAA. The HIPAA act or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are a law that protects all individuals when it comes to the privacy of their medical records. Information that is exchanged during the entire transcribing process is considered private and should be disclosed to anyone else. Sometimes, some information is disclosed by accident without the knowledge of the transcriber.

There are some ways and tips in order that this information is kept private and away from the public eye during a hospital medical translation process.

Keep your work station private

When you’re working at home for a surgery medical transcription company or a hospital medical transcription company, a lot of information be shared between you’re and your ...
... client. Make sure that your computer or workstation is locked away from the prying eyes of your housemates. It is important that they have no access to your computer or any file or folder that contains all these information. Most home based transcriptions working on a hospital medical transcription would have a separate computer for transcribing purposes alone; if the latter is possible it is probably the best option when it comes to protecting all private date.

Avoid discussing work details with others

It is also important that you avoid talking about patient transactions with others. It is human nature to share thoughts, especially experiences regarding work to others; but as much as possible avoid doing so. Information shared to other people has a high chance to be shared again to others. Never disclose specifics such as names of patients, what they are going through, which hospital they are in, and other specific details pertaining to a single person or to a specific institution. Aside from verbal communication, avoid posting such details on online social media websites such as twitter and face book as well as forums and public message boards.

Make sure that a HIPAA contract exists between your employer and you

Last but not the least; make sure that there is a contract between you and your employer. A contract will make you understand more the scope and detail of a Hipaa Medical Transcription and what actions should be avoided so as not to break the law. If there is no such contact between two parties suggest that a contract be made by the employer so that both parties will understand the importance and privacy of all information exchanged during the entire process.