HIPAA Compliance for Transcription Companies

In the healthcare industry there is a growing need and standard for healthcare professionals to maintain complete documentation of every interaction with patients. Not only does this protect the patient as well as the medical staff involved but it also ensures a certain minimum level of care and continuity in that care. Therefore, all conversations that take place between medical staff and patients as well as audio journals (dictation) regarding patient records must be handled and documented appropriately for future reference. Because of this, there is an ever growing need for professional transcription services that offer the smooth handling of personal/medical records.

There is a great deal of confidentiality involved in the medical system when it comes to handling patient records. Those transcription companies that perform medical transcription are required to meet the minimum standard of HIPAA compliance.

For the sake of confidentiality on behalf of the patient, only those individuals who are directly involved with the care of the patient should have access to the patient records. This pertains specifically to:

- Direct care staff (RN's, LPN's, Physicians & surgical staff, etc)
- Clerical staff (Billing, admitting)
- Support staff (imaging technicians, lab workers, social workers, etc)

In some situations, outside groups or agencies may have patient information released to them - usually for legal purposes (law enforcement, attorneys, etc).

The nature of HIPAA has worked well for a number of years in protecting the confidentiality of patients and the staff that work with those patients. Unfortunately due to the nature of dictation (staff can't always write everything down) transcription services must be brought in as well. As such, those transcription companies must also strive to maintain confidentiality of patient records.