Prepare for your new medical transcription career with the flexibility and convenience of distance education. As a medical transcriptionist, you will transcribe the dictated words of doctors to create error-free reports. Allied's Medical Transcription Course teaches you how to use common medical abbreviations, symbols, punctuation and grammar, while helping you to increase the speed and accuracy of your typing.
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The act, which became effective July 1, 1997, is a grouping of regulations that strive to combat abuse and fraud in health insurance and health care delivery. As a medical transcriptionist, you must follow HIPAA regulations and secure the hundreds of patient records you'll come into contact with.
Patient records are confidential and it's your duty to keep them that way. If you work at home, this means working in an area away from family and friends - no one can hear the dictation you're transcribing. Additionally, if you use a family computer to complete your work, make sure all your transcription files are protected by using a screen saver password. Ideally, you should have a computer dedicated solely to your transcription work.
Now here's an important question - is your computer set up to help you stay HIPAA compliant? To protect patient confidentially, equip your computer with at least the following:
- Secure, password protected email and FTP sites
- File encryption software
- Regular Windows updates involving computer security
- Firewall protection
There are other ways to ensure file protection, so visit your local computer software store to better understand your options. Follow a security protocol at home and with your computer - you'll work more effectively, stay HIPAA compliant and keep your career on track.
By Danielle Macklin, Medical Transcription SchoolsLabels: HIPAA, medical transcription, Medical Transcription Tool
