HIPAA Compliance Transcription Services

HIPAA compliance transcription services should be an essential component you seek when shopping around for a medical transcription company. Confidentiality is vital when it comes to patient information and only a compliant HIPAA company can ensure that any information you dictate is safe and protected.

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What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which basically uniformly regulates the exchange of vulnerable patient data via electronic means in order to shield patients from unlawful disclosure and release of their medical information. This important breakthrough was passed in 1996 in light of the increasing vulnerabilities that the internet and technology had made patient information.

Important Company Requirements for HIPAA Compliance

A medical transcription company should ensure the confidentiality and security of patient data and also maintain a traceable trail for auditing purposes of all company personnel who handles a specific patient’s data. In addition, there should be compliance officers whose job it is to stay on top of any changing regulations and statutes to HIPAA. HIPAA Compliance transcription services should be on your priority list if you are seeking these services.

Encryption and password protection is essential to protect patient data and prevent any unauthorized access. Therefore, any digital voice recordings sent via the internet for transcription must be encrypted. Emails must be encrypted if any confidential data is transmitted via that fashion. A secure FTP (file transfer) website can be utilized but encryption is necessary to send completed transcribed documents to the client.

Technical Selling Points

A transcription company should physically protect any confidential information that is being handled for a client. Only authorized, trained staff can have access to facilities and it must be protected via special login codes. Filters and firewalls are essential to protect from any outside access to the computer networks; in fact, only certain ports are given access to the computer system which should be controlled via special logins and passwords.

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Data encryption is a necessity so that even the slim chance that the confidential patient data were intercepted by an outside source, it could not be deciphered. Individual desktop access should also be monitored and password protected with access limited only to authorized transcriptionists.

Redundant back-ups are also necessary to protect patient confidentiality according to HIPAA standards. Mirrored hard drives are important and will prevent any transcription company from being completely down due to technical failures. Off-site data storage facilities in several locations should be the norm as well as back-up plans in case of any natural disaster or emergency like fire, flood or even unlawful deeds. Only the creator of the dictation (medical professional who did the actual dictating) can access the transcribed information that they ordered for a patient and information is never released to anyone else, not even the patients themselves.

Once you have narrowed down your choice of HIPAA services companies with the best security measures in place, then you have to make your decision based on their turnaround times, accuracy and redundant technical fail safes. Finding the right HIPAA compliance transcription services is perhaps one of the most important things you will do for your medical practice.