To ICs and MTSOs, have you used the offshore outsourcing and HIPPA
Posted By: cai on 2008-09-04
In Reply to:
issues to educate and as a sales tool? Have you had success with this? I was thinking of having this be the focus of my next round of mailings. I wonder if most clients are even aware that their stuff is going out of country. I am sure that with some companies it would not matter because the money is the bottom line, but I would like to believe at least that with some it would matter, especially with HIPPA issues. What is the current situation with the HIPPA issue at this time?
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When you say they "outsource," do you mean offshore outsourcing?
x
that's called *offshore* outsourcing.
x
For those of you who did not think Amphion was outsourcing offshore, see the proof that they are.
InterFix expands its international reach
InterFix to provide connectivity infrastructure, software and services for medical transcription services industry in Trinidad & Tobago
InterFix is pleased to announce a comprehensive agreement with e-Teck Ltd., a Trinidad and Tobago Government-sponsored business incubator. "We are delighted to be selected to provide a comprehensive range of software and services by e-Teck" stated Scott Faulkner, Chief Executive Officer for InterFix.
"This agreement expands and enhances both the reach of our consulting services to e-TecK, and at the same time provides a software connectivity infrastructure for the medical transcription services industry to emerge on a strong, long-term footing. Trinidad and Tobago is going to emerge as a highly credible, trusted resource for US-based MTSO's unable to grow due to the global shortage of skilled medical transcriptionists."
Professor Kenneth Julien, Chairman of e-TecK, explained " Trinidad and Tobago are global players in the Liquified Natural Gas, Call Center, Tourism, and several other industries. InterFix is continuing to provide the guidance, insight, and software we need to diversify our economic and employment base, and become a world-class provider of medical transcription for the United States healthcare market over the coming months and years."
The far-reaching agreement includes an enterprise-wide software license, technology design services, and comprehensive marketing consulting designed to develop and support the new industry in Trinidad and Tobago .
Amphion Testimonial
"Amphion Medical Solutions has been working closely with InterFix for over a year and have been very pleased with their service and industry knowledge. We have been able to bring new customers on line much more rapidly and our overall IT expenses in the interface area have been reduced significantly because of InterFix.
Our CTO Michael has implemented over fifty different custom InterFix sessions. The customization capabilities of InterFix--coupled with Michael's experience and skills--has allowed Amphion to bring MT customers on quicker and service them more efficiently. Many of these custom sessions were highly complex, custom ADT applications or document return sessions which were costly, difficult, and timely implementations previous to using the InterFix product. InterFix has solved real business problems for Amphion, reduced our costs, and brought us integration capabilities not previously possible."
Mike Cavill
Chief Executive Officer
Amphion Medical Solutions
Madison, WI
Please post offshore topics on Offshore Concerns board. (NM)
Thank you.
Goldbird
Yup ... smaller MTSOs, local MTSOs (sm)
local doctor's offices or clinics! Don't get discouraged!! :)
hippa
I don't know the action that can be taken by the person, but HIPPA is a very serious organization. I am in a situation that my insurance man has taken my personal information home and his wife has answered my complaint. NOT the company secretary. He surely did not observe the HIPPA law with me. He had no right to remove my information out of his office and discuss it with his wife. THe response was not even on the company letterhead. I intend to file charges with the Federal Government.
HIPPA
This may sound naive, but what is wrong with just saying that I comply with all ethical standards and will not disclose medical information to anyone, unless I get your approval, or something to that effect?
HIPPA FTP
What FTPs are HIPPA compatible?
Etranz and HIPPA
Does anyone know how to report HIPAA violations? I'm afraid that our dear ole ETranz is in violation of HIPAA rules. You see they use general unsecured email to send their files around. BIG HIPAA NONO!!! So........ Any information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!
it's HIPAA, not HIPPA. nm
x
/HIPPA/MP count
Two questions,
1. What sort of things do I need to have in place to be able to say I am HIPPA compliant at home?
2. Can someone please give me the web address to MP Count?
Thanks
Breech of HIPPA??? - sm
Has anyone else seen the news item about the man who intentionally put 12 nails into his head with a nail gun? Isn't putting this on TV a violation of this man's privacy? Even mentioning that he did it, or putting his x-ray/CT scan on for all of us to see? I know it's a news item, but it is medical, and I'm sure HE didn't give his permission for this to be aired. Any thoughts? (He is doing well and expected to recover).
Breech of HIPPA
Boy, if this is how you spend your time, you surely need to get a life.
Pay for HIPPA violations
I'm not certain who gets charged where transcription is concerned - but the physician office gets hit with it for their office personnel. I have a standing monthly appointment with a physician and I got so tired of them calling my name with a waiting room full of people that I first complained to the office manager - and then when that didn't work - went to HIPPA. The next month - they were using a numbering system - sort of like at the ice cream store or the court house - you know, now serving #-whatever. They have a piece of tape placed on the floor and you must stand behind it while another person is at the check-in counter, and they do not use your name until you are in a closed examing room. I think that if HIPPA is to be taken seriously, then steps need to be taken to make sure that it is adhered to, even if it does mean making changes in office procedures, etc. 
HIPPA Question
Hired by a group of local doctors to work from home. Getting overwhelmed. Want to recruit help for sick days, etc. Does anyone know the HIPPA rules to follow in this type situation? Your help is appreciated. Thanks & happy holidays!!!
What FTP HIPPA Compliant do you use?
I am setting up my web site and I am having trouble understanding FTP and is it HIPPA Compliant. Which one do you use?
HIPPA is a law. not people.
so who would be doing the monitoring??The facilities should be the one who care - but that doesn't seem to be happening.
Regardless whether HIPPA is the basis or not....
there is a problem there that needs to be addressed here. Either you agree or don't! No need to critize an MT who is at least trying to make an effort to do something about it.
It's HIPAA, not HIPPA (nm)
x
I didn't, but I had my satellite before HIPPA.
Currently have cable internet so not a concern, although my company had no problems with me using satellite.
How do you pronounce the acronym HIPPA?-nm
.
Need a HIPPA form for transcriptionist
An account has asked me to prepare and sign a HIPPA compliance form. Please refer me to such a form.
Has a HIPPA law been violated by my ex coworker?
I am a radiology MT and worked at the hospital who did my chest x-ray and lab work after I was given a dx of breast CA on Tuesday. I had been given Xanax which I took and was in a sheer panic because I am afraid .
The woman MT I worked with at the radiology dept and I have kept in touch. I told her as I was being worked up (did not tell her I had CA as she has a big mouth) to let me know if she does my chest x-ray and let me know if it is abnormal. I then went into the surgeons office where he had been a faxed of the chest x-ray with the CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS: Breast cancer. on the top. When I returned home, I had an e-mail from her that was an exact cut and paste of my chest x-ray with the exception that CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS: Breast cancer. had been cut from the copy. She has since stopped all contact with me and now I fear that the entire MT dept and hospital I worked in for two years with know I am suffering from this without my telling them.
I feel hurt and violated because she knew before I wanted her to (she typed the report I saw but mostly because she has stopped corresponding with me after seeing that I had breast CA. When I was being worked up, she said my bad lifestyle was the culprit. She herself has never had a mammogram and refused to see doctors (7th Day Adventist).
Am I wrong for feeling this way? Have rules been broken? Shouldn't she have asked for my wrritten authorization before placing my chest x-ray report in an e-mail. and saying "good job" with reference to teh normal chest I guess (although the words "Breast CA" definitely negated that - it was almost as if she did not want me to know she knew.
I am so confused right now and have no family members or even close friends so I cannot tell if what I am thinking is even accurate. The Xanax and Prozac are not helping along with major anxiety.
Any feedback from astute MTs would be appreciated. Thank you.
Pssst... It's HIPAA, not HIPPA. nm
x
wouldn't this be HIPPA violation?
Just finished dictating an irritating doctor. Thought he was dictating on his cell phone, but turns out he was dictating on an airplane. Wouldn't that be a HIPPA violation?
Sorry, but major HIPPA violation to "keep a
little file...that's a HUGE industry NO-NO. Talk about lawsuits and professionalism!
It's HIPAA, not HIPPA. People in the business really should know that. nm
x
HIPAA not HIPPA (check your site too) nm
nm
why doesn't HIPPA monitor these things? (sm)
they should be the outsource police and crack down on these companies, y'know?
If HIPPA laws are broken, whether overseas
or here, the US company making the contract with the overseas entity would be held liable for not adhering to HIPAA laws as they are responsible for those companies they contract with.
PHYSICIAN SUED FOR DELIBERATE HIPPA VIOLATION
Anyone know what the penalties are for docs violating HIPPA? I know of a case where a person was damaged from a new nonsurgical cosmetic procedure and about to settle with a company to pay for the surgical repair. Prior to the settlement this patient saw a physician who sells these same nonsurgical services with a possible financial interest in the company. This physician filled the patient's face full of temporary cosmetic fillers to cover the damage and then WITHOUT THE PATIENT'S PERMISSION released the patient's records to the company and wrote a letter stating there was nothing wrong with the patient. The company subsequently canceled the pending deal to pay for the damages. The temporary fillers wore off and the damage returned and this patient is now suing the company AND ALSO the physician that released her records. This physician has caused an already traumatized patient much more stress (a subsequent long legal battle) from this HIPPA violation. What are the penalties? Any criminal charges?
Thanks!!!
HIPPA=Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act
Yes, I saw the ad also and felt it was an insult to offer that line rate for what they wanted from an IC. I put the definition of what the initials HIPPA mean for your benefit.
well, if not hippa police to enforce - quite useless. huge waste.
huge farce
They are all correct style and grammar rules. More concerning are the gross HIPPA violations sm
that you admit to. No MT should EVER go into another medical record to "check" on things.
The emails are not petty; the service obviously wants good quality and it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHAT OTHERS DO. Hold yourself to the highest standard and you will never have an issue.
MTSOs
You are not wrong but in my opinion, you are giving them too much credit. The reason why they don't do what you ask is because most of them are not concerned with making your life easier; rather, they are more concerned with figuring out more ways to cheat you and to make your life more difficult. Then when you get disgusted and quit, they will just get somebody else in a very short time to replace you because you are very expendable. And it goes on and on in the same vicious cycle.
MTSOs
You know, there has to be a market between the dastardly corporate MTSOs and small transcription companies. It seems to me that if a talented, aggressive MT with a good business sense could find a way to create a "team" approach to the transcription business, perhaps one could find that niche and sell "team transcription" to good accounts that the MTSOs screw up and have cheated. After all, you have to believe that with the scandals in the transcription corporations - over billing, sending work over seas without informing the client, a lot of trust is lost by some of these unsatisfied accounts. I say, find a way to market to those clients in a "team group" and find the right price, somewhere a little lower than the MTSO charges and go after those accounts aggressively in a group. There is a market there you know.
more than most other MTSOs pay.
it is not kosher to share on public forums what a company pays.
I would not think many MTSOs would want to
x
No, it's not just the MTSOs (sm)
The actual doctors don't want to pay more than minimum wage for transcription either. As an independent, I've had doctors balk at 12 cpl (which is BELOW what the MTSOs are getting, believe me) and I've lost business because I wouldn't take $6 an hour or what equated to 7 cents a line.
So where am I at? Making peanuts working for MTSOs who are getting 15+ cents per line as a middleman for these same kinds of physician while I'm making a paltry 7-8 cpl. It's a no-win situation.
Help for new MTSOs? sm
I have questions about proposals, equipment, and what to charge in order to get started. Are there any web sites out there to help me in this? I have books that I have read, but they go over the basics of start-up MT services.
You should run this by the MTSOs and
see what they think.
This is why the MTSOs have gone so low
single mom, does not want to work away from home. I bet they love reading postings like yours. They have women where they want them, just lower the rates because these people are saying they cannot leave the house.
When MTSOs overhire, this is what happens:
There are actually MTs who work to support their family or supplement their income to meet the customary lifestyle. When MTSOs overhire, leaving the MT with very little work, I have observed this - Jobs are done hurriedly. When extra foot work is required (due to discrepancy in report, incomplete info provided, etc.), the MT who is desperately trying to meet their bills will skip the job or disregard the need to research and go on to the next job. This is extremely dangerous for everyone concerned. At times, it is weeks before the incomplete report is realized.
I do not fault the MT entirely. When the MTSO overhires, they are setting themselves up for this. I do believe 98% of us want to do a really good job, especially those who have been at this for years. But, I have noticed this more and more, and it will, MTSOs, come back and bite YOU.
When you have a dependable employee who can be counted on for production of a certain amount of work, provide that to them.
MTSO - When you get a new account and hire top shelf MTs initially to get the ball rolling and make a splashing impression, do not replace them with lower rate MTs afterwards - it is obvious when the company is hiring nonstop and they already have MTs sitting at home idle for hours at a time. And this creates, MTSO, the "disgruntled employee" who may make every attempt to ruin your reputation each time they can.
I have just come home after being in house for a few years and after three months, I see this happening with my company and, according to the board, it is widespread. It is an issue that needs addressed before someone, namely the patient, is hurt by it.
Unfortunately MTSOs now do good if....sm
they collect 15 cpl. With the pressures from overseas vendors the pricing has dropped to 12-14 cpl. In the "old" days (prior to say 5 years ago) the going rate was 20-25 cpl and of course companies could afford to pay 10-12 cpl easily.
Wellll, I don't know about MTSOs, but JLG -- Please SM
was helping with our hospital transcription.
We got paid $1.50 a minute if we did 2500 minutes a month ($1.75 a minute for all minutes over 2500).
JLG got $3.25 a minute. I saw the bill. I saw it with my own eyes. I nearly fell over. And to boot, it was horrible transcription, FULL of ridiculous errors, blanks. And we had to convert the text files. It was such a bunged up mess.
I lost all my trust at all in the hospital since they were paying us HALF of what they paid a service. I even contacted JLG to see if I could hired to work on MY hospital's account. They were going to pay me 7 cpl. What a joke.
Any Medikin using MTSOs out there?
I am in the process of opening my own mid-sized transcription company. I am still in the process of deciding what TASP to go with as I do not want the hassle of maintaining my own equipment. I have been looking at Medikin's website and am very impressed with what they have to offer for the price. If anyone is currently using or has used them in the past, could you please post your experience here.
Good MTSOs are even
more difficult to find than good MTs. Many of them have negative attitudes and expect indentured servitude in exchange for peanut wages. Many of them have limited, at best, technical or MT knowledge. We get tired of the ranting emails that don't even apply to us from a PMSing or menopausal females. Disorganized, poor communication skills, cheap, selfish, zero management skills, lack of a formal education, lousy platform, personal life issues conflicting with job performance. You'd be able to find good MTs if you were a good MTSO.
From an MTSOs standpoint
no, I'm not one ... just throwing a coin into the playing field ...
Wouldn't having only ICs working "for" a company mean less liability. IOW, if MQ phased out the SE status, could that take a potential monkey off their back?
OTOH, they can hire all the ICs they want, but if those ICs only work for MQ, they're still considered SEs ... correct?
small MTSOs
There's a great online resource for MTSOs of all sizes, varying benefits and pay, and variety of work. It's called www.MTJobs.com. Sign up to be on their mailing list. There are usually at least 50 companies listed on each newsletter, which comes out twice a month. Good luck in your search, and prayers for God's healing of your medical problems. :)
To MTSOs or QA Managers
I recently took over QA for a small company just purchased. Previously there had been essentially no QA rules. If any of you could send me examples of how your QA is set up, the percentages you deduct for errors - common, critical, etc., it would be most appreciated. Any rewards given for high QA or deductions would be appreciated as well.
Patti or other MTSOs...
Hi,
Need to get my own account/s instead of relying solely on the national (guess who). Getting a client in my area is probably the easy part. The hard part is the logistics of software, paper, etc. Not having dealt with this stuff working with a national, it is the *simple* things that are a mystery to me (and others, I suppose). I hate to even inquire about transcribing for someone, not knowing what equipment I will need, what software, kinds of paper. I am sure I would come across as an idiot (like right now, maybe?)
OKay, well, I looked online at Dictaphone and it looks like there are mini, micro, and standard cassette units (not to mention digital online programs), so I guess you WOULD have to find out which the client prefers before investing in one, and I know you can get them on EBay, but what else? Does the software come with the transcriber? I don't suppose you can type them out in Word? I suppose one can buy a medical spellchecker. Then you need paper if you are going to print them out...what kind? Anything else? There are so many variables. I suppose I should first contact the two MTSOs that I know locally and ask for overflow work. That way, they could help me learn about this stuff.
No slamming, please. Very sensitive tonight as I just received a call from my Supervisor, very nicely hinting that I need to bring my line count up but, as we talked and now, hours later, I have *no jobs* on my screen. Pretty hard to get that line count up with no jobs!
Thanks for any tutoring and/or advice. 
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