Hospitals may be well-versed in HIPAA regulations, but that does not mean the outsourcing firm or business associate you are partnering with is a stringent follower of proper security protocols. The blame and a direct linking will be on you too when there is a breach of PHI while outsourcing.
The current world timeline has put pressure on hospitals and healthcare systems in accordance with the increasing regulations on medical data entry services and patient health information. In spite of the measures being adopted effectively to prevent healthcare data entry services hacks and protect patient health information, healthcare BPO outsourcing services are still victims of data breaches widely.
The breach or violation might not necessarily happen with the business associates’ awareness, but it adversely affects your name, reputation, and the victim patient.
To better prepare and counter security breaches and protect PHI, always consider an associate versed in privacy lingo, the repercussions and acts accordingly. Also, these basic and fundamental procedures will better help you to ensure security and protect data from scrutiny while outsourcing healthcare back office services.
1. Genuine Credentials and Encryption Practices
Your healthcare BPO outsourcing services partner should be a genuine and certified professional capable of handling PHI and medical records within HIPAA regulations. Check on their encryption methods and company standards in healthcare data entry services. The privilege to access, revise and circulate data are also to be checked upon and make sure it lies within your zone.
An ISO 9001 certification in medical data entry services and documentation procedures for your healthcare back office services provider will be a definite advantage and proof of genuineness.
2. Third-party Compliance Reviews
The Healthcare BPO Outsourcing services provider you are considering to associate your business must undergo a third-party compliance review – a control report at a service organization. By these review, it will assess your healthcare back office services provider’s processing integrity, security and non-disclosure standards
These reports are provided by the companies after a project completion, and it is not to be considered as a light promise from your outsourcing partner. A bi-annual risk assessment must also be done by this reputable firm to ensure all benchmarks and processes are HIPPA compliant.
3. Trained Personnel
The healthcare BPO outsourcing services provider’s personnel/employees should be trained on HIPAA and its effects, the confidentiality of PHI and medical records with a well-versed knowledge of information processing and security breaches.
For an added employee check,
- Non-disclosure agreements should be signed
- they should be clear of criminal background checks
- and undergone drug testing.
4. Asset Allocation
HIPAA compliant resource allocation should be made precisely to your healthcare back office services provider. Their personnel should be active and dedicated to execute medical data entry services within HIPAA compliance rather than inactivity.
Your healthcare BPO outsourcing services provider should provide you awareness about their protocol order way before such an event and not during. Periodical and proper training sessions and exposure protocol updates makes them prepared while outsourcing healthcare data entry services to them.
5. Perform an Inspection.
Infrastructural check on the healthcare BPO outsourcing services provider should be done to ensure maximum security and surveillance among the firm and barcodes for tracking medical records are practiced by the personnel.
Make sure you have a visual confirmation of the information you’re provided. You can do this by a virtual tour utilizing modern day video calling apps or programs.
This is because certain organizations are able to utilize all of the HIPAA compliance and security slang and dodge away by working along faulty surveillance devices and crippled infrastructure or a stack of untracked medical record containers.
Although outsourcing is really beneficial for hospitals, HIPAA regulations are the foundation at which they stand to highly prevent data breaches on PHI and patients’ medical records. Adopting such a footing will serve with the hospitals before handing over or assigning a healthcare back office services provider.
