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I'm sorry to ask this because I should know the answer but what does HIPAA say about our medical

Posted By: HopefulMT on 2009-08-28
In Reply to: Can't we flood Oprah's email or something and get Lisa Ling to do a spotlight story on the - Fed up with offshoring

going to foreign soil? I'm sure our info is SUPPOSED to be protected, but is there anything that makes this even at least questionable? I'd be livid of my info going to another country regardless of what my profession is!


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Might violate HIPAA ... MTs have to sign a HIPAA (nm)
.
This is just HIPAA on steroids. Cant enforce HIPAA
d
TT management does not answer questions that you ask them; only answer those they want to answer.

I know, work for a long time and tried asking questions, but they just beat around the bush and don't answer the true question that you presented to them.


Maybe it is kite flying weather where you are !!!


HIPAA???
How in the world would you think HIPAA applies here? That is for HEALTH information, not employment information!
HIPAA
fast fingers.
HIPAA
All the Homeland Security stuff you are saying is great, but remember it's HIPAA (not HIPPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
That has nothing to do with HIPAA

HIPAA

The HIPAA agreement will also protect you.  I would never work for a company without one.  It is illegal.  Voice your concerns to your new MTSO and explain to them you will not work until you sign a HIPAA agreement.  I am a service owner and no one works for my company without one!


 


 


Its HIPAA.
NM
It is actually HIPPA, and not HIPAA

The contract I signed stated that I could hire assistants at my own expense.  My husband is a great techie and also can lend a listening ear.  I do not agree with your post.  JMO. 


The myth of HIPAA

I'm not sure why we put so much faith in HIPAA even at home.  This is a Federal statute that relies on Department of Justice prosecutions.  That would be the office of the US attorney for your area.  Check this out to see just how seriously it is being taken and who is getting prosecuted for what:


http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/2007/(DM)HIPAACrimCharges.pdf


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The myth of HIPAA

I posted this below, but I'll move it up here since HIPAA seems to be the neverending mantra.


I'm not sure why we put so much faith in HIPAA even at home.  This is a Federal statute that relies on Department of Justice prosecutions.  That would be the office of the US attorney for your area.  Check this out to see just how seriously it is being taken and who is getting prosecuted for what:



http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/2007/(DM)HIPAACrimCharges.pdf



Requires Adobe Reader


HIPAA compliance, I believe. (eom)
x
Would this be a HIPAA violation?
Supervisor went away for a week, so her husband (not an employee), sent out the work assignments for our accounts.   I thought computers had to be secure from access by others, including family.
I would think there would HIPAA issues with that.
NM
Question about W9 and HIPAA
I was recently offered an IC position and was supposed to have started already (some on the account have - my computer crashed).  This MTSO is hounding me but never gave me a W9 or HIPAA agreement to sign?  Is this legal?  Any thoughts on this?
HIPAA Stops the the border
x
I stand corrected. It is HIPAA

also s/b HIPAA(hyphen)compliant
x
You signed nothing? Not even a HIPAA agreement? I would think she sm

would be in hot water over that.  Generally, you sign the HIPAA agreement and the contract at the same time.  DId you talk about pay at all and make a verbal contract? 


I agree with everyone else.  Until some sort of pay is establishied, I wouldn't work anymore, PLUS, not sure I would want to work there anyway with all of the phone calls and drama that you described.  It sounds like you would be signing up for a duty in Hell.


I'm sorry you have gone through all of this.  Good luck to you.


Furthermore, I would like to know how the Indians remain HIPAA compliant when there are 27 of them

This is why I say HIPAA is a joke.Edited offshore
x
Got another, unrelated question...speaking of HIPAA...sm
Working for an MTSO, is it confidential who the clients (the clinics/hospitals) are who you are typing accounts for? Or is that just the MTSO's own rule? I have always kept it quiet but I wondered if this is a HIPAA thing or a company thing.
Agree with poster above, not related to HIPAA, but
most MTSOs do not want you sharing their company specifics, accounts, etc.
First, their HIPAA officer is an idiot and says to use MSN messenger for pt names.

ANYONE with any brain knows that MSN is not a secure environment for patient names, but when confronted and asked, she said yes we could say patient names in that.  A friend of mine who worked there at the same time told them that she would NOT use patient names in messenger.


i wish she had reported that idiot to the bulldogs!


HIPAA requires damage, not just a loose report...
and HIPAA has basically no teeth anyway. You are talking itty bitty fines like $500. Which is less than $600 a year for liability.Everyone gets their undies in a knot about HIPAA...the only thing ever close to a HIPAA violation was that Indian MT trying to get paid.  So let's get reasonable about HIPAA violations.
Satellite is not a stable connection. Not in terms of HIPAA or sm
privacy but in terms of stability of speed and signal. Because the signal waxes and wanes, it can cause disruptions in connection. They might not seem evident when you are surfing the net or checking your bank balance, but a VPN connection such as one that is needed to do transcription for many hospitals needs a solid, stable connection. This connection can be fast or slow, as long as it does not go faster and then slower and then faster and then out and then in. A satellite signal does this constantly, by the second, and it causes disruption in the flow.


I betcha it IS HIPAA regs that rule out wireless
Doctors etc. cannot use cell phones to dictate their reports, right? If this is true, I bet the use of wireless to deliver their dictations to at-home transcriptionists is considered potentially not secure. Well, two modems it is for me and I am really glad I asked this question. Thank you all for your feedback.
HIPAA protects the patient; you can mock employees
Unless they were saying something completely fabricated and the employee was identifiable, at which point you might be able to make a case for slander, they can pretty much have a field day at the expense of their employees. As pointed out, though, working for people willing to have a giggle fest over their dismissal of employees leaves a little something to be desired.
EXACTLY! HIPAA protects the privacy of your health information IN THIS COUNTRY!
Once your protected health information leaves this country, your privacy is no longer protected.  So while you may not trust your neighbor to know your medical history, you can trust that if they breech your privacy, you have legal recourse and you can have their jobs!  In India, if someone holds your health records hostage and threaten to publish them on the internet because they didn't get their 2 cpl, you are basically screwed! 
There were post on another board about test dictations violating HIPAA regs. sm
Some people seemed to think they were using actual dictations, with actual patient info, in their test dictations.  I would leave them alone, way alone.
I can answer that question with a simple answer!
Strengths - none.
Weakness - all.
So what? I don't have to answer anything.
And by the way, MQ does not know that I work for Spheris. :) They are very much aware.

It is amazing to me how many of you people just want to screw someone. You're not happy for whatever situation.

It's NO ONE'S BUSINESS whether I work for 1 company or 3 or 6. I could care less what you think. I'm no more in danger of losing either job than anyone else. Furthermore, it's no skin off my nose if I DO lose them. I will be employed shortly thereafter. I have plenty of money. I'm not worried.

No need for anyone here to be upset or angry about my situation. It is shocking how absolutely miserable most on this board are. It's becoming quite amusing! No matter what ANYONE says -- everyone raises that shrewd eyebrow and turns their mouth down and mutters and mumbles, "just you wait". You sputter warnings out like you've been imprisoned and are angry someone is not held captive like you are. TOO BAD.

I have a great situation - it has been that way for years. If it goes on until I leave this business, great. If it doesn't, I'll just find more work. It really isn't that big of a deal to me...why in the world would it be so bothersome for anyone else?!

It really sounds to me like some people don't have enough to do in their lives! Well, I do and I'm thrilled with how things are going! It's a lot of hard work, yes, but it's very rewarding.

Everyone can go one with their lives. Hahahaha What I do in mine has NOTHING to do with YOU!
here is your answer
her replacement has been working for WEEKS training to do her job and nobody has said a word. Check your QA.
answer
CPT will be a 5-digit number. 99201

ICD-9 will be 3 numbers dot and one or 2 numbers after the dot. They add new numbers every year after the dot to make a total of 5 instead of 4 so it will be more specific.
401.9

Here's a good reference for you.
http://icd9cm.chrisendres.com/index.php?action=contents
Anyone know this answer?

If you were transcribing a 70-character line with spaces at 9 cents/line, how many 1-page to 1 1/2-page reports would have to be transcribed to equal $100/day (about how many)?


Thanks.


Your answer is......
DQS - AKA DocQScribe - is a program that transcriptionists use to transcribe their reports.
Answer (SM)
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they have an answer for everything
even when it hurts our pocket.  I use to think that they treated us fairly but now I think we are just another number to them, and they could care less.  Like you said, too many policy changes, seems like something every week.  Also, I hate it now when you call the office you talk to custom service  That should tell you something right there.  We are not employees now, but customers, only we are never right, as in the customer is always right.  Just venting, but it is really upsetting when my paycheck was half what it was 4 weeks ago.  They also do not pay downtime if your QA IA under 97%, did you know that?  
Answer for ya
Both nationals I have worked for had me put the files on my desktop for them and do virus scans and such and then they tapped into my PC to finish the installation. I hope that helps.
That I can answer...sm
According to the person I spoke with, one of my past colleagues (a supervisor, actually) gave her my name.  What's odd, though, is that I haven't spoken to or had any contact whatsoever with this person for about 10 years!  Seemed very odd.
Can anybody answer that for us?
I'd appreciate it - I've been doing this a long time but there are so many companies out there it gets confusing.
To answer you ...

If you already have a computer you will perhaps need to purchase some equipment, depending on the account(s) you work on.  I only work on accounts that use DVI VoiceWave.  If I were to work on an account that used a different system, I would have to purchase the new system.  But to make my life simple, I stick to just the one I originally purchased.  X-press did not gouge me for anything.  I lost my long-time job due to voice recognition and I knew that I had to make some important financial decisions regarding setting myself up as a contractor. 


One thing I will say regarding X-press not hiring too many people:  You can be a good Transcriptionist and not make the cut.  There's a difference between being a good transcriptionist (one who knows her English, grammar, punctuation and terminology), and then there's the great transcriptionist who is proficient in all the above PLUS knows all the nuances of transcription - knowing radiology inside and out and knowing when the doctor is in error, knowing a cut off word rather than leaving a blank because of experience.  I work with a small handful of women.  We all have extensive radiology experience. 


You can't just fall into a job with X-press.  But I think it's worth it to work hard to get in. 


Because there are no benefits working with X-press, it might not be the best place for a single person or single mom.  Because my husband has benefits with his job, X-press is a good fit.


I work two accounts.  One account pays 9 cents a line and the other pays 16 cents a line.  If I worked weekends on the 9 cent account, the pay would be a little higher.  And if we end up working a holiday, you do get holiday pay.


Vacations are worked out amongst co-workers.  I've never had to cancel vacation plans.


X-press is nice because you get your own accounts.  Like I said in my original post, I have worked with X-press a little over two years.  I have worked the same accounts the entire time, so I have had the same doctors the entire time - I really appreciate that.


answer
i dont work on touchtype platform but the other platform they have.  do you work there currently?  i am on one of the oldest accounts that they have I believe.  i really like it.  i believe the owner is in charge of the account that i am on. 
I can answer this one.
You haven't transcribed the entire report. Verification on the rest of the report, outside of the blank, only requires a comparison between voice and text. It is much faster to simply listen while reading/scanning the transcribed text.

As well, any dictation that is questionable already gives you the suggestion or expectation of what it should/might be. You are just not working as hard to produce the draft product. The MT already has done that task. You are finishing the product.

Your expertise in medical terminology, English grammar, spelling, anatomy, medications, laboratory values, etc., is what you are being compensated for.

Another point is that very few MTs can actually type at the speed of the dictator without ever pausing. If you can do that, perhaps you should be go back to transcription if money is your greatest motivator.
Here is your answer
They consider full time to be 40 hours per week and you have to do 11,000 lines per pay period.
* Best Answer Ever * ~ Thank You!
:)
Answer
KS doesn't use just 1 specific platform. Each account has its own platform.
The answer is --
.
Answer-Med

Avoid this company like the plague!! Vindictive supervisor that keeps pets and tells lies/changes rules to suit herself.  Management charges for tech support even.


My answer even though not the OP. sm
I left after 6 months because I could not keep a strict schedule, and that was what they require. I have 4 kids and working 8 hours is not feasible and they would not bend on that. Sometimes you need to have a few hours off during the day when you have small kids, and they were not very lenient on that. I couldn't give them what they wanted (a fixed schedule) and they couldn't give me what I needed (flexibility to work when I can) so we parted ways. That was the only reason. I am now with a company that doesn't keep tabs on me; they understand that some days just get away from me and I am not able to do more than an hour or so. I took a pay cut for that flexibility, but I really don't need to work as my husband is a good provider.