Why should you care about your medical dictation being sent off shore?

 

Your medical information dictated by medical professionals includes: Social history – including how many alcoholic beverages you drink and where you work and live; family history – including how many siblings, health of your family; past medical history – including surgeries, illnesses; medication history – including every medication you have taken and are currently taking; allergies; and personal statistics including height, weight, eye color, and birth date.

Is there anything else you need to give to someone who wants to steal your identity? They don’t need your social security number anymore. They get your insurance information and everything else listed above. They just need to become you and your medical provider may be giving them exactly what they need to do that, and HIPAA regulations don’t mean squat overseas.

Let’s not forget your credit history and direct personal information sent to collection agencies who use off shore call centers to follow-up on past due accounts. Many of these call centers are intertwined with the off shore transcription companies and data storage facilities…they call it multitasking.

Ask your provider, insurance carrier, hospital, and anyone you give personal information to if they have their transcription done here in the US. Demand that they do.

Insurance companies are selling your information to drug companies and equipment providers. Example: How many diabetics receive calls from equipment providers asking them if they want a new glucose monitor? They already know who your insurance carrier is…how? Because they got your contact information from them. Pretty scary, huh? How many of these call centers do you think are actually in the US? Very, very few. No one appreciates having to push 1 for English, so why do you allow calls from off shore call centers regarding your personal information.

Even unemployment and worker’s compensation providers are using off shore companies to handle their claim dictations. Some car and home insurance providers also send your information off shore when they have their reports transcribed.

Think speech recognition and EMR are safer? Think again. Many larger MTSOs (Medical Transcription Service Organizations) and other suppliers send this work off shore either for processing or for ‘storage’ and have US transcription editors review and edit the information, and they never tell their clients that it is being done.

Now think about your company’s information, and all of the trade ‘secrets’ you send off shore with your audio. Do you really want to share that information with those that do not have to adhere to our rules and regulations? Does anyone remember the women who threatened to release her clients transcripts? http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/SPECIAL-REPORT-Looking-Offshore-Outsourced-2774413.php

Do you think this has changed???

When is enough, enough? Not only is it costing US jobs, it is costing many more their identities and livelihood.

Demand your personal information remain safe and any sharing of the information be secure and governed by HIPAA regulations or other US regulatory guidelines.

 

 

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