Medical Transcription Companies: Ensure Confidentiality and Privacy

Ensures the Confidentiality and Privacy of Medical Records

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) implemented by the Health and Human Services department, prohibits the illegal usage of patient information. Your patient data is safe with a medical transcription company that is HIPAA compliant.

As the digitized medical records are transferred via the internet, they are more prone to illegal access. Under federal law, ensuring the security and privacy of patient records is compulsory. Medical transcription companies protect the patients’ health related information by providing security and confidentiality of medical data according to the rules and regulations set forth by HIPAA. Now, most of the healthcare facilities including clinics, hospitals, individual practitioners and group practices are opting for HIPAA compliant medical transcription services since these ensure confidentiality and privacy of medical records.

Competent Security Measures Implemented

Utilizing advanced technology and the best digital devices, HIPAA compliant medical transcription companies provide secure FTP and browser based file transfer, apart from ensuring privacy of all medical records entrusted to them. To ensure the privacy and confidentiality of medical records, the computer systems in these firms are integrated with top-quality security options such as:

• Firewall and antivirus software, which are updated daily
• File encryption software
• Minimum 128-bit encryption for all transferred files
• Passwords to open files
• Secure, password protected email and FTP sites
• Passwords to use the computers and to start Windows
• All external drives including floppy disk drives and USB ports are disabled to prevent illegal copying of documents
• Regular Windows updates involving computer security

HIPAA compliant medical transcription services are available for different medical specialties and sub-specialties including dermatology, hematology, psychology, cardiology, plastic surgery, neurology, oncology and many more. To provide quality and accurate medical transcription service, firms serving in this area maintain a team of professionals including transcription experts, editors, quality controllers and proofreaders. With sophisticated tools and technology, they transcribe a wide range of medical reports including patient history, clinic notes, operative notes, emergency room notes, physical examination reports, laboratory reports, psychiatric evaluations and discharge summaries with outstanding accuracy.

Being a healthcare professional, it is your responsibility to ensure the confidentiality and privacy of your medical data. So, make sure that the medical transcription service provider you approach guarantees strict confidentiality for your medical records. You have the right to file complaint against medical transcription companies that fail to meet the guidelines in the agreement.

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