RELATIONSHIP OF HIPAA REGARDING MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONAs a rule most medical transcription services are not governed by the regulations of HIPAA—which is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. HIPAA medical transcription businesses are required to use certain precautions to protect the privacy of patients as opposed to any and everyone having open access to their medical records. However, these transcription services are regarded as Business Associates. Now, there is a twist under which medical transcription companies are actually indirectly affected by HIPAA rules. HIPAA governs specific “Covered Entities”. Covered Entities must acquire written documentation stating that a Business Associate such as a medical transcription business will not indulge confidential patient information to certain outside sources. There are also medical services that independent operators who contact with Business Associates and will fall under the same HIPAA influence as the Business Associate.
This rule that a medical transcription service is not a Covered Entity applies in some states but not necessarily in all states. In some places a medical transcription company may be seen as an HIPAA Covered Entity—these companies are indeed HIPAA medical transcription governed companies. If a transcribing business engages in electronic transmission of information of patients, then the company needs to meet the security of HIPAA compliance. Naturally, it stands to reason that any company who complies to these regulations would be a more suitable company for hire than a company who does not comply due to the fact that there would be an issue of trustworthiness.
There are university and college classes given in the study of HIPAA medical transcription regulations. Medword does offer a medical transcription course. You can gain an entry level degree or diploma and also start a long lasting career in this medical field. Medword’s course is a home course where these valuable and profitable tools of the field can easily be learned at home. You will receive books and medical dictation on tapes and will learn every aspect of the course. These classes offered by the Medword organization will instruct you in the HIPAA regulations governing medical transcription.
In the case of an independent contractor to a medical transcription service company—he must also follow the privacy regulations. Since this contractor is a third party who will be receiving access to the patient’s information, there must be a written agreement of privacy and security of the patient’s records before the contract is signed between the third party and the medical transcription service who delegated the task. The independent contractor must comply either directly or indirectly with the HIPAA regulations governing medical transcription. Any medical transcription service, even if not considered a Covered Entity by the HIPAA, should let people know that they plan to follow the rules as though they were a company who is under the requirements of HIPAA medical transcription regulations because this shows that they fully intend to protect the patient’s rights to privacy and security. |