One of the political issues at the very top of the list for most Americans is the issue of Right To Privacy. This is an inherent component of our United States Constitution, but it has essentially been so abused and violated since 9/11/2001 that we are now entering a new American Revolution by the people. In Light of this, there may be an aspect of personal privacy that might not readily be considered by many when visiting your medical providers; that is, the dictations on your medical issues done after you leave the office visit, including your social history and family history.
Do you know, for instance, that more and more medical dictations are being done overseas? What this means is that the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), which is designed to protect your medical records in America, is not applicable when the medical notes dictated on you are typed and/or edited overseas. You virtually do not have any recourse if your medical information is leaked out in another country. The only right to privacy control enforced for medical transcription companies overseas, say, in India or Malaysia, is that if the typist has not used the computer for twenty minutes, the computer will log out of the system (hardly a rigid control for protecting your privacy). You have no control over how your medical information is used, or by whom, because our medical privacy laws are not enforcible outside of the United States of America.
Medical transcribers in America who type reports are held strictly accountable for maintaining your medical file securely by every means possible. It may cost our Contractors more, but they can be sure that the brain and the two eyes typing their notes are focused, medically knowledgeable, have a command of the English language, and are extremely cognizant of securing that information. This stops being the case the moment that dictation is sent out of our country for either typing or editing. In fact, I recently learned that regular unsecured e-mail is used for many of these transactions.
There is another factor that has the potential for invading your privacy by companies who ordinarily would not have access to your medical records. Do you know, for instance, that every time a merger takes place wherein any participating company that might not be related to the medical system at all but is involved in the business transaction means they can access your medical information as well. The more your notes become accessible to more people, the less confidence any American should have in how their medical information is being used.
Ask your medical provider where YOUR medical notes are being typed or edited.
I strongly encourage anyone who wishes to do so to demand of their medical providers/facilities to whom and to where their medical notes are being distributed. Many MTs (transcribers) have recently learned that medical facilities are quite reluctant to divulge that information to their patients Here in my town, 200 health providers employed by a large medical facility recently walked out to form small private-practice partnerships, in large part when they learned that notes were being outsourced and handled overseas (exposing providers to potential undue legal problems, according to one physician we have talked with) but also from disgust of “Big Brother” nosing into their profession. There is always a positive in a negative though, and the fact that medical providers are rebeling and going back to good old private family physician is a great thing!
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See: NWU Offshoring Justice Campaign (“Unfortunately neither HIPPA (sic) or Gramm-Leach-Bliley prevent the sending of personal information overseas. Privacy protection offered by these laws does not extend beyond the United States.”)
See.: Overseas Outsourcing of Private Information (”Using personal medical and financial information to blackmail unsuspecting individuals….. may (be) a consequence of the practice of outsourcing electronic data to foreign countries for business processing.”)
See: Heath Data Privacy: The Coming Disaster: ”This issue is both a policy concern and an entrepreneurial opportunity. Who will address it first – private-sector tech innovators, or policy makers?”
YOUR MEDICAL PRIVACY PART II: The Electronic Drug Racket
Physician, heal thyself.
