In terms of patient confidentiality, the healthcare sector is bound to stricter guidelines than other sectors. Professionals in the medical field have an additional responsibility to preserve their patients’ privacy when handling medical records, which may be located anywhere from a computer to a physical filing cabinet.
Who Has to Obey the Laws Regarding Personal Information Protection?
HIPAA and similar federal privacy and security regulations apply only to certain types of organisations. Any person, group, or government agency that is obligated to follow HIPAA rules is considered to fall under this category. Among these are:
Medical and mental health care facilities and practitioners (hospitals, clinics, dental offices, retirement homes, pharmacies, psychiatrists)
Providers of private health insurance as well as Medicare, Medicaid, and benefits offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs
Transportation Best Practices for Patient Medical Records
A healthcare organisation and the medical records moving and storage provider tasked with the relocation of sensitive medical records have certain responsibilities and obligations when transporting these records:
Documents must be protected at all times, and they must never be left alone in an unsecured safe or room. Only properly trained staff members should have access to patient files and data. It’s important to mark and store boxes with appropriate numbers. Documents should never be left alone and only be handled by authorised employees. Administrators must keep a close eye on movers of records to guarantee they adhere to all safety and transit guidelines. After documents have been delivered, they must be accounted for and double-checked for accuracy.
Storing Patient Medical Records Safely
When it comes to patient data and records, medical personnel need to be especially cautious. Medical records collating, whether kept on-site or off-site, need to be properly secured by being:
• Covered so that no personal identification information is showing;
• Kept away from open shelves or high-traffic areas;
• Kept in an access-controlled location that requires a mechanical or electronic key;
• Assign to a manager to make sure the medical records are store properly;
• Kept so that only authorised personnel can access the medical records
Hiring a Reliable Medical Document Storage and Transportation Service
No healthcare organisation, no matter its size, can afford to have patient data compromised. The damage to the healthcare provider’s reputation, on top of any legal consequences, might be catastrophic. Healthcare providers should work with trustworthy medical record movers who store and transport patient information in accordance with all applicable state and federal privacy and security laws. They should seek for record movers that: Offer identification verification and access-controll storage at their location. Provide a secure chain-of-custody medical records moving system to ensure all records are protected before, during, and after the transfer Provide a combination of safe medical record transport and storage services; Empty the trash of old files with a secure shredding service
Value Versus Expense
Companies that transport medical records cheaply may skimp on security in order to keep their rates low. These businesses use temps without conducting any kind of due diligence on their applicants. This puts vulnerable patient data at risk for any healthcare organisation. When it comes time to relocate, healthcare organisations must ensure that their chosen record moving and storage company is in full compliance with HIPAA regulations to prevent the loss, alteration, or theft of sensitive patient information, the possibility of identity theft, and the high financial and public relations costs that will result from litigation.
Do not use a company to move and store your medical records sorting unless they can guarantee their safety during the process and have experience with scanning, shredding, and other record management tasks.
