Importance of HIPAA Compliance in Medical Transcription

The importance of HIPAA compliance in medical transcription lies in the fact thatit ensures confidentiality of patient information in accordance with law. The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Privacy Rule, approved by the U.S. Congress in 1996, establishes identifiable policies for the exposure and utilization of an individual patient's health details. HIPAA stipulates non-disclosure of protected health information (PHI) without the patient's permission, for healthcare requirements, national interests and public benefits. It also seriously investigates compliance associated problems.

Why HIPAA Medical Transcription Services are Important

Medical Ethics and Appropriate Treatment – The first reason is that medical ethics call for maintaining privacy of whatever medical information a patient passes on to a physician, staff, other healthcare professionals and to the healthcare practice at large. Only if the patient can trust his doctor would he be more open in divulging details about his disorder, medical history and other aspects. The more information the doctor gets from his patient, the easier for him to arrive at a correct diagnosis and provide the appropriate treatment.

Required by Law – HIPAA is a law passed by the U.S. Congress, and any violations would lead to malpractice litigation. Infringers would be held accountable and charged with civil or criminal penalties.

To Prevent Loss of Reputation and Unwanted Costs – Violation of HIPAA provisions is a serious offence that can badly affect the reputation of a healthcare provider. A bad reputation can lead to a loss of patients and a corresponding reduction in revenue. The healthcare provider would also have to spend money on damage control.

To Prevent Medical Identity Theft – Medical records carry information about a patient's medical complaints, treatment, prescribed medicine, test results, allergies and so on. As these medical records are constantly being passed about in a transcription setting, it is easy to steal information. This can lead to unlawful use of medication or treatment by a person other than the patient, who would come to know only when he is billed. If a healthcare practice knows for sure that a particular transcription service provider is HIPAA compliant, their worries concerning illegal divulging of patient information can be dispelled to a great extent.

Compliance Measures

HIPAA compliant providers of medical transcription solutions take a number of precautions to ensure the confidentiality of PHI. These include

• Firewalls and filters to prevent unauthorized personnel from gaining access to the computer networks
• Computers are protected by unique passwords
• Passwords also required to begin Windows
• File transfer with minimum 128 bit encryption
• Backups are made often and kept at a safe and secure location
• Round-the-clock manned security
• All staff handling PHI have to sign privacy and non-disclosure agreements
• Audits and random checks
• No home-based transcriptionists or sub-contractors

In conclusion, it may be said that the importance of HIPAA compliance in medical transcription can hardly be stressed. HIPAA compliant companies take every possible measure to ensure that there is no breach of the Act.