Why Working With a HIPAA Compliant Trained Company is Important
The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires healthcare providers, organizations, and their business associates to create and follow procedures that ensure the confidentiality and security of protected health information (PHI). Protected health information refers to individually identifiable health information which can be linked to a particular person. Specifically, this information can relate to:
- The individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition,
- The provision of health care to the individual, or
- The past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual
Common identifiers of health information include names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates, email addresses, and phone numbers.
To ensure compliance, healthcare organizations, and their business associates, such as document scanning companies, should evaluate any security gaps relative to HIPAA and undergo HIPAA compliance training to educate employees about working with documents containing PHI.
It’s More Than Medical Records
Any information, whether it’s a medical record, billing information, or even a verbal conversation about a patient’s health, is protected by HIPAA if it includes the patient’s name plus one of 18 other identifiers. Documents containing personal healthcare information held by an insurer or employer are also protected by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. In all cases, both paper and digital records are protected.
Since document scanning companies deal with all types of sensitive documents, it is imperative for the entire staff to be fully aware and trained on how to securely handle these documents while in their possession, from document receipt through scanning, indexing, quality control, and delivery.
HIPAA Compliance Training for Peace of Mind
It is important to work with a company whose staff has been trained and fully understands the responsibility of handling document scanning projects in a secure and confidential manner that is in compliance with HIPAA Privacy Rules. Training ensures that all staff is aware of and follows the policies regarding protecting client data while in the company’s possession.
How do you know if the document scanning company you are working with has HIPAA trained staff? Simply ask. Business associates are required to show proof of a formal and documented HIPAA compliance training program concerning how to handle PHI in a private, secure, and confidential way while in their care.
Committed to Keeping Your Private Information Safe
At MetaSource, we’re committed to ensuring that our clients’ data and information is handled in the most secure and confidential way while in our care. We have well-documented security policies and procedures and our entire staff has successfully completed HIPAA compliance training.