Busy healthcare facilities hospitals, doctors, physicians, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, rehab clinics, acute care facilities and multi-specialty practices send out a lot of patient information to be transcribed into standard documents. They seek medical transcription services that comply with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) guidelines. The reason is that these healthcare providers are bound by this Act to maintain the confidentiality of all patient health information, whether electronic, written, or oral. A HIPAA compliant medical transcription company assures that all the medical information that their clients send in for transcription is securely handled and returned.

HIPAA compliant medical transcription services are offered for all medical specialties including cardiology, general surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, sports medicine, gynecology, neurology, nuclear medicine, emergency room, family practice, psychiatry, plastic surgery and geriatrics.

Many Gains with HIPAA Compliant Medical Transcription Services

Medical transcription companies that comply with HIPAA have administrative, physical, and technical safety protocols to appropriately protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the electronic protected health information that it creates, receives, maintains, or transmits on behalf of healthcare facilities. Medical entities that outsource medical transcription to them gain from secure technology, infrastructure, processes and human resources.

• Secure technology: Safe dictation options are provided such as toll-free number or digital dictation. Advanced technology ensures safe file transfer over the Internet with options such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and secure browser. Files for transcription are uploaded to a password protected server and downloaded by the transcriptionist. Once transcribed, the documents are uploaded once again so that they can be accessed by the client using the password. Browser-based transfer using a minimum of 128 or 256-bits encryption is another safe option.

• Secure infrastructure: The medical transcription company would have implemented various security measures to prevent theft or vandalism of any information stored in their computers. Firewalls and antivirus software on all computers are updated every day. Monthly back-ups of computer systems will be done and stored safely in password protected lockers. No information leaves the transcription department as home-based transcription is not used.

• Personnel trained on security: The medical transcription company has a team that is well-trained on maintaining HIPAA protocols. They receive and send files, following all the necessary security rules to ensure the security of confidential patient information.

Medical transcription outsourcing to an established HIPAA compliant medical transcription company would also ensure benefits such as error-free documentation with accuracy levels of up to 99%. The completed files would also be delivered in customized turnaround time, based on the specific requirements of the medical specialty.