Medical Transcription Service Provider Webmedx Reacts To Indian Black Market Medical Records Scandal
From PRNewswire.com comes a press release from Webmedx, fourth-largest U.S. medical transcription service provider:
Atlanta-based Webmedx,
the fourth largest medical transcription company in the World, cites
the news of black market sales of medical records in India as further
proof that the Webmedx's 100% domestic workforce is the most reliable
way to maintain standards of privacy and security. In an era when the
HITECH Act is demanding more stringent rules for protected health
information, the onus on transcription service providers is at an
all-time high.
The
example of records being sold in India is a perfect rationale for the
fact that sending medical records offshore for transcription is not in
the best interests of the healthcare industry and its patients. "It is
unrealistic to think that U.S. laws can be effectively enforced outside
our borders sufficient to deter the misuse of information or breaches
of security," mentions Sean Carroll, CEO of Webmedx.
According
to Carroll, the new healthcare privacy and security regulations have
sharply increased responsibilities and penalties for healthcare
providers and their business associates when it comes to medical record
security. As a result, Webmedx has heightened its training compliance
practices for its entire staff to keep pace with the HIPAA regulations
detailed in ARRA's HITECH legislation.
"At
Webmedx, we simply believe that, on balance, patients and providers
will receive more secure, higher quality documentation of their care
through a domestic, credentialed and engaged workforce operating on a
100% U.S.-based infrastructure," says Carroll. "Keeping patient records
onshore is an important measure in protecting ourselves, our clients
and the millions of patients whose medical information is vulnerable in
situations such as what recently occurred in India."