Medical Transcription Outsourcing as a Power Backup for Quality Healthcare

Handling the intricacies of crucial documentation and healthcare information, medical transcription outsourcing has been an innovative and versatile support. Utilizing a skilled and talented pool of transcriptionists, stringent levels of quality control and multi-specialties personnel, medical transcription outsourcing as a power backup renders quality healthcare services. With medical transcription companies investing in time, energy, capital, personnel and other facilities, they provide and concentrate on their core business of catering to various healthcare modules to provide optimum results with offering risk management, quality healthcare and receivables management. Infusing cost-effectiveness, specialty transcription services, timely delivery and security, medical transcription companies have been a reliable solution with medical transcription services.   

Though outsourced medical transcription services do not directly help in the rendition of care by healthcare professionals, medical transcription powers aspects of the foundation of expert healthcare services. With many benefits in medical transcription outsourcing, medical personnel can provide timely diagnosis and care with clear, legible and flawlessly transcribed patient medical records. Accurate documentation of medical records reduces the pressure on the medical professionals as the medical transcription company renders impeccable services ensuring seamless operations of the healthcare units with state-of-the-art technology and improved communication between the healthcare facilities and the healthcare professionals.   

Creating information collection of patient medical records to ease and expand productivity of healthcare staff, a professional medical transcription company offers various modes of dictation including a toll-free number, customized and specialized medical documentation, quick turnaround time or TAT as specified, proofing and editing of speech recognition software transcription and skilled transcriptionists who are constantly trained to render accurate medical transcription. Executing HIPAA and HITECH compliant medical records, outsourced medical transcription services from a reliable medical transcription company can serve as a power backup for quality healthcare. With easy operation utilizing a 128-bit SSL certified platform to ensure privacy, protection and security of all data, the option of narrating patient encounters into Practice Fusion with free web-based EMR/EHR applications, comprehensive workflow management with HL7 integration and 24x7 customer support besides three levels of quality control, medical transcription companies have been a boon as a quality base for healthcare and medical decision making.  

For more information, visit http://www.usmedicaltranscriptionservice.com/ or call 1-800-723-4308

The Importance of the HITECH Act and HIPAA Compliance

Every professional medical transcription company adheres to HIPAA compliance or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and the HITECH Act. Churning on the axis of security and privacy of patient medical records, HIPAA compliance guidelines have formulated the aspect of confidentiality besides protecting medical identity theft. Medical transcription companies have followed HIPAA compliance as it not only offers an opportunity to acquire new business, but also speaks highly of the integrity and reliability of the company. The medical transcription service companies have trained their transcriptionists to follow HIPAA compliance to ensure privacy of all medical records. With the transcription company following HIPAA compliance, they can avoid lawsuits and reduce breach of security risks. 

It is best to choose a medical transcription company that follows not only HIPAA compliance but also the HITECH Act or the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. With the stipulation that at the start of the year 2011, financial incentives would be offered to healthcare providers who utilize EHR or electronic health records with the incentives being offered till the year 2015. The HITECH Act levies penalties on parties not using electronic health records. The HITECH Act also gives training centers grants and is also part of ARRA or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. ARRA offers incentives besides supporting the scope of protection which comes under HIPAA. This has encouraged the use of electronic data interchange in the U.S. health care channels.

For more information, visit http://www.usmedicaltranscriptionservice.com/ or call 1-800-723-4308

HIPAA Enforcement and Privacy Rules

Enforcement of the Privacy Rule began in April 14, 2003, for many of the HIPAA covered entities with the HHS Office for Civil Rights who were authorized to enforce the Privacy and Security Rules. The covered entities’ privacy practices enforced by the activities of the OCR were leveraged and experienced improved results. The protection and privacy of health information of individuals were systematized with the corrective rules of the OCR that were exercised by covered entities and this resulted in improvement and HIPAA enforcement. With the requirement of complying with the HIPAA Security Rule that was established on April 20, 2005, the OCR was chosen as the authorized agent for the enforcement of the Security Rule on July 27, 2009. 

The covered entities range over healthcare providers such as dentists, clinics, nursing homes, psychologists, nursing homes, chiropractors, pharmacies transmitting information and transacting through an electronic format designed by HHS standards. The Health Plan is rendered through services by HMOs, health insurance companies, healthcare paid by government programs evolving over Medicaid, Medicare, veterans’ health care programs and the military. It is important to note that the processing of health information by healthcare clearing entities are received from yet another entity following a stipulated electronic format.

The HIPAA Rule ranges over the Privacy Rule or the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information. In order to implement the HIPAA standards or the Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the HHS has enforced the Privacy Rule. This Privacy Rule stipulated that the usage of health information that pertains to the disclosure and use of an individual’s health insurance which is otherwise known as protected health information and the control of violations should be exercised. Coming under the umbrella of the HHS, the Office for Civil Rights or the OCR should be responsible for enforcing, implementing and upholding the Privacy Rule which when violated would call for civil money penalties. With flexibility being one of the aspects of the Privacy Rule, the enforcement has a balanced outlook to the various kinds of uses and disclosures. With the Administrative Simplification provisions addressing the security, privacy and standards for the electronic exchange of health information administered by the Secretary of HHS Sections 261 through 264 of HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Public Law 104-191 was enacted on August 21, 1996.

For more information, visit http://www.usmedicaltranscriptionservice.com/ or call 1-800-723-4308