Medical Transcription Trends

Ensuring the security and confidentiality of information is extremely important in the medical transcription profession. And you understand why. After all, sensitive information about people’s medical history is passing through your hands.

Now, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) lays guidelines to ensure the security of medical data. The medical transcription companies take measures to follow them, but what happens when you are working on your own. Yes, as a home-based medical transcriptionist, you have to make an effort to ensure compliance with HIPAA. Here’s how you can do that:

• Make sure your anti-virus software and firewall are always updated. You cannot afford to let your computer and your work to be infected by malicious programs.
• Install the service packs of your operating system as and when they are released. This will keep your system updated and avert any unnecessary problems.
• Let your work computer be dedicated to medical transcription work. Don’t use it for personal work and don’t let others access it.
• Get a secure FTP connection to transfer medical transcription files. Working from home requires that you transfer information online. Therefore, you need to assure that the information won’t be intercepted during the transfer.
• Encrypt e-mails that contain information related to your work. By encrypting information, you assure that no third party gets access to confidential patient information.
• Keep hard copies of your work locked in cabinets. Don’t let anyone else have access to them. Shred the papers you no longer need. They should not be kept lying about in the house.

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