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Offshore or onshore - personal information is at risk sm

Posted By: transcriptsx10 on 2007-04-05
In Reply to: HIPAA and Outsourcing - AnnieM!AnnieM!

when it is in private homes. The only way to avoid this is would be to not allow companies to import the SSN in their ADT feeds to companies that do outsource work. It doesn't matter whether it is a domestic MT, or offshore MT, or any other person with access to that information - AMERICANS are dishonest as all get out too. The only information we MTs need is Name, DOB, and MR#. The only people needing SSN info are the billing department to communicate with the insurance companies, no one else in the hospital should have access to it. It's a joke to think offshoring MT is what is causing the problem, it's human nature, people are greedy and want more - MTs for some reason seem to feel they need to blame offshore for this but it's really a copout and just another reason to place blame.

Proud to be an American home-based MT who is HONEST!


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This is very personal information.
dd
The only certain way that your personal information
will fall into another's hand is to totally remove the hard drive and either replace it with a new one, or sell as is.  Every old computer that I have discarded, I made sure to remove the hard-drive before putting it out to pasture.
Please! I do not give out personal information to strangers on the Internet!!
    
right? isn't there a board for personal medical information posts?

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PROTECTING PERSONAL DATA
I want to share some information I am studying in one of my college classes right now, and that is the "European Union Data-Protection Directive." Here goes:

"The European Union (EU) has been a leader in addressing privacy concerns of its citizens. In 1998, the EU Data-Protection Directive was enacted to require organizations to protect personal data. The directive has wide-ranging consequences for government entities, Internet providers, healthcare providers, and employers. The directive goes so far as to forbid the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EU if data-privacy safeguards and guarantees do not exist. The directive is affecting multi-national firms in both business and employee matters. The EU has investigated and/or filed complaints against United Airlines, Microsoft, Ford, Marriott, and numerous other global firms for violating the provisions of the directive. As it affects employee data and records, the directive states the following:

.Personal data can be gathered only for identified reasons.
. Individuals must receive information about who receives and processes their data and why the data are being gathered.
.Persons have the right to access the data collected about them and to change, delete, or correct these details.
. Legal actions may be taken by individuals for misuse of their personal data."

Taken from "Human Resource Management," 11th edition, Robert L. Mathis/John H. Jackson, page 503.

Pay attention particularly to the 3rd point above, and the first paragraph about how the EU forbids the transfer of personal data (our professor confirmed this includes medical records) outside the EU IF there are no guarantees.
Europe does not as a rule, offshore financial data and medical record data.

My point is this, that if Europe upholds the dignity of its citizen's private information to the extent that it does, there is no reason why we Americans cannot be given the same right. I am not particularly opposed to offshoring, however, I am opposed to it in regards to sensitive private information in which we Americans should have a voice in, and a consent to.
Because the healthcare system is collapsing in this country with more and more Americans losing their healthcare, offshoring of anything possible in the medical field, is becoming so prevalent without consideration or regard for its implications. The medical industry is scrambling to stay afloat with the soaring cost of healthcare, and because the bottom line is the profit, CFO's will continue to squeeze every drop they can to uphold that profit. In this case, offshoring is directly tied to profits only. Right now is the time for every citizen to take the responsibility to voice their concern, to write public officials, politicians, and do everything possible to be heard in regards to the issue of offshoring our private information. The only reason it is occuring at such an alarming rate is because we are complacent. I know we are all busy, but we must take more responsibility and advocate in a professional, organized, and coherent fashion.

Even though I am sacrificing now (at age 57) to get a college degree and enter another field, I find a way to advocate for what I believe in. I will not be leaving the medical transcription field without continuing to advocate for my private medical records and financial information. It is no longer an interest to me to stay in medical transcription, but rather an interest to advocate for ethical concerns which includes medical transcription. Please, let's all make the sacrifice to keep writing our leaders opposing the offshoring of medical records.
Starting personal attacks always expose the loser:.to your information,
because I find it faster my way, ONLINE.
You are using bookd, the old-fashioned way?

Expensive and much too slow.

I checked the yesterday'a and today's questions in the afternoon and found - as already said - only 1 somehow unjustifiable question.
To check 1 day would have been enough.


I research ONLINE
with fast and accurate results. The internet is literally swamped with resources and references and is the fastest way. You should try it.
Are you still looking into books? Way too slow.

So, do not blow this out of proportion.

If you have the urge to teach and to guide, open your own MT school and give your advice there.
Manufacturing computers offshore is different than PRIVATE MEDICAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION. sm
you need to compare apples with apples not oranges.
Please post offshore topics on Offshore Concerns board. (NM)

Thank you. 


Goldbird


use at your own risk LOL
My company's samples come with warning labels on them, that they may contain mistakes. They're just guides, they can be very helpful at times.
They're all at risk...
It's called hacking.  It can be done to any computer regardless of which country that computer sits in.
It is more of a risk overseas. SM
If some company operating from an offshore country with a "store front" in the U.S., decides to retaliate against Dr. John Doe, and spreads 50 of his patient's medical records over the internet, how easy do you think it would be to track down the so-called contact (whose name cannot even be pronounced) for the transcription company who is nowhere to be found? HIPAA has now power to fine, penalize, or imprison any overseas operation because the HIPAA laws only apply here in the United States. IMO, there is a substantial safety risk in having medical records leave the country.
Normal xrays would have a very low risk
of causing infertility these days. Years ago, things might have been different. On the Gardasil issue, the doctor does not have a right to force this on anyone.
There is a risk, but if you have an idea how big the file should be
and you have good virus protection and adware/spyware software, then your risk is minimized.
It would be a lot of added risk to an already risky surgery. nm
nm
Why doesn't Risk Management say something to the docs? nm
nm
at the risk of sounding dumb, what is an ITOP? nm
x
at the risk of sounding dumb, what is an ITOP? nm
x
Yes, I agree. The risk is too high. Will purchase the cat flea repellant.
dd
Phentermine causes pulmonary hypertension - it is not worth the risk. Prozac - you can go either wa
x
Does your hospital have a Risk Management team or office? Contact them. (nm)
.
My Norton's just blocked a browser exploit with a high security risk...
just now when I entered the main board forum here on MTSTars.  I would like to know what that is all about! 
Sexual predators vs witch hunters. watch children risk becoming predators....

I recently had an awakening about the witch hunt currently going on for one "convicted sexual predator."  Predator first offense:  18 y.o. dating 15 y.o. Dad of 15 y.o. angry and had 18 y.o. arrested.  My grandmother was 16 when she married my grandfather who was 19.  I guess he should have been arrested too.


Second offense:  21 y.o. made copy of nude on internet.  Copy found by off-duty policeman who reported find.  Predator arrested, mother's computer confiscated, 100 y.o. public defender appointed.  Predator had to prove person posing for picture was over 18.  How could anyone do that if they do not even know name of person appearing in picture.  Predator convicted and on probation.  Cannot be anywhere with any children.  No Christmas get togethers with family, no church, must leave restaurant or other public place if children come in, MUST be registered and can be locked up if too close to daycare, school bus stop, etc. and must go ???somewhere if children present in Dr. waiting room etc.  Neighbors informed of sexual predator in midst and regularly egg car and persecute in other ways.  I wish they would round up every photographer and reader who ever looked at girl's breast in magazine and could not prove girl of age.  (National Geographic for instance.)  I find sexual predators abhorrent but think we have gone too far.  Am I the only one who sees the backlash from fear? 


 


 


Stand up and what get fired. Lose benefits and lose my house. Can't risk it.
I wish I could. That is why this business is as bad as it is. We can't afford to not work, so we settle for whatever gets thrown at us.
This is not personal for me.
This afternoon I watched coverage of the mother and I am embarrassed for her as an American.  She has gone far beyond the first time I saw her and really felt sorry for her.  I believe her criticism is harsh assuming she knows no more about what happened to her daughter than we do or the judges in Aruba do. 
Isn't that personal?
The best interest of the patient has to be examined here. Why, in order to prove something that is said about other occupations, do you compromise the patient's privacy in order to prove yourself?
Not sure if you mean as MT or for personal (sm)
If for MT, here you go:

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Home
my personal ob/gyn uses (sm)
EMR. I must say that as a patient I do not like to sit there while he types into his system, looking up at me occasionally to ask a question. It is very impersonal and, as I think you ORS is going to find, quite time consuming on his part!

I have no idea how he'd get his IMEs done, either. The one EMR report that I've seen (had to take one from my ob/gyn to a neurologist for my migraines) looked very "computer generated" and not "personal to me" at all. What a turn-off for a $150 doctor visit.

If your client is very busy, hopefully you will be hearing back from him once he finds out how time consuming it is entering all that data!!

Bonnie, new to the board
personal?
Dear SM, given your abject anonymimity, how can the question be personal?
Try not to take it too personal...sm
sometimes some people just struggle with being nice or trying to help. Everyone needs a break some time...even her. good luck to you!
My own personal take on that....

My daughter was in the process of being preopped for back surgery for scoliosis in her thoracic spine.  She had had before playing basketball, but she got injured during a game, which really exacerbated it when a girl fell on her neck/upper back.


Anyway, the PA in one of the many consultants offices we went to actually asked, "Who fell on you?  A teammate or someone from the other team?"  My DH and I looked at each other and could hardly keep from laughing, but God love my daughter who answered her with a completely straight face, but asked later, "What difference does it make who fell on me?"  That question still makes me scratch my head.


Same here, but it was my personal PC, and...
I ended up pulling off just the bare necessities (critical documents and e-mails), and I had to take it down to the dirt...partitioned the hard drive and reformatted, reinstalled the operating system and all my programs. I have degrees in programming and information systems, and it still took me 20 hours to do. If you can't do that yourself, you need to get it to someone who can, but plan on a pretty big bill, I'm afraid. It may be as much as a couple hundred bucks, maybe a little more.

I am so sorry for what you are going through! I think virus programmers need to be stuck in front of a firing squad.
I'm with ya on that one! ALL of our personal

personal thanks
Sue:

Thanks so much for being so cordial. I just read a nasty gram telling me that basically I have been complacent for 18 years and now need to join the 21st century. I have done work on-line over the years, but have never had to take a test. I have tons of reference materials and just have nearly always used WP. I do know how to do Word, but don't use it every day.

Can you tell me who you are working for now? Any advice for me?

Again, thanks for being so helpful. I am going to go on E-Bay today and order that.

Write back with any advice, please.

Thanks, Jeanie
not sure about your personal accout, but
in my office they say just spell it as best you can and let the MR people worry about it unless it is completely unintelligble, then put Unknown and leave a note and forget about it. hope that helps you :)
Any personal experience with HRT?

Can weight gain be a side effect of hormone-replacement therapy? Has anyone tried anything else for symptoms of menopause? I need help! Gained 40 lbs in the 1-1/2 years on HRT and gotta do something about it!


It's a personal decision.

I prefer IC as well.  When you're an employee, they pay you less per line than as an IC.  You still pay taxes, federal, state, Medicare, Social Security as an employee.  However, the employer pays for Worker's Comp and matches the social security and Medicare only portion of your taxes, which I believe is only 7.65%.  That social security percentage is quite small when you consider the fact that self-employment taxes are only 15.6%.  I don't remember the exact percentages because it's been a while since I had to manually figure it all, but you can look it up on Google.


As an IC, I get to deduct every little thing I can think of.  I can deduct my home office, a portion of my utilities, a portion of my Internet and phone, any mileage, office supplies (and I love office supplies!), furniture, software, computers and other equipment, paper, reference materials, everything.


The issue is that when you are an employee, those taxes get taken right off the top so you don't even miss that money.  Most people don't set aside a percentage of their pay that should have gone to those taxes, so they grumble when they owe at tax time.  You actually get to see how much you're paying out in taxes.  However, they got to use their money all year instead of loaning it to the government interest free.  That's a perk.


Just my personal opinion
but I think the Herman Miller chairs are as overrated as they are overpriced. I bought one of the Aeron chairs and ended up sending it back. It would have been great for lounging, but it was all wrong for proper support for typing all day at a computer. I have no experience of the Mirra chair; it might be better. I ended up test sitting several chairs at Office Depot and Staples and found a very comfortable, very supportive chair on sale for about $100 that has worked very well for me. I'd recommend, before you spend all that money on a Herman Miller chair, try out the chairs at office-supply stores. You might find one that works for you at a much lower price.
Must just be personal preference then..
because I absolutely love it.  Been using it for over 3yrs.  Very easy to query the fields to change to correct DOS or patient if need be, upload statuses to use if info is not available.  I am so sorry you detest this platform...I absolutely love it.  As far as the ESP expander, adore it too.  Sure, I had to add everything from scratch but once you get through the major bulk of it, adding ones here and there over time is a piece of cake.  I even have complete reports including headers set up in my ESP files.  Some Expander programs will not allow that.  In answer to your question, no I have never used SmartType (sp?)...but I have no complaints with what I have now.  Guess it's all what you're used to and what you like your expander to be able to do. 
PERSONAL ATTACKS (SM)

Cut it out with the personal attacks.  If you don't like the subject matter, skip it.  Banning is the next step.  I'm tired of deleting unnecessary, ugly posts. 


Goldbird


Nah, I don't have a tatoo. It's personal art. To each his/her own. sm

Some men find tatooes on women very sexy.


Don't be so judgmental. It's art and very personal for some.
 
Personal opinion here.... but
I would wait until my test results come back; however, I would be researching into which companies hire fresh out of school and also check with your school to see if they have any contacts with companies for their new graduates. 
Eww, I think that is very personal and I wouldn't
!
Personal preference
I am a former nurse as well and I promise you that the CMT exam is not a speck compared to boards .. something I think I may still be traumatized by and it was way too long for me to feel that way!!  You are going to get a lot of negative feedback here and I can only tell you that as a nurse with really good experience and an MSN there was no real reason for me to take the CMT exam save for personal validation.  I think that if you work in a field and there is a credential then it is a personal choice whether or not you take the exam.  Many companies do pay for your CMT and will pay as well for you to do the continuing education to maintain it.  Additionally, promotions and the like are often given to CMTs first and I'd say mainly because it shows an employer you cared enough personally to validate yourself.  I don't need someone to force me .. it was driven by my own personal goals in this business.  I'd like to see people stop bashing AAMT because of issues that were not put into play because of AAMT but because of politics and big business squeezing for the buck.  I'd like to see people give each other encouragement and support, but women seem not to be able to do that easily.  I'd like to see this business shake itself off and start to live up to principles that make some sense too .. but I fear that my bubble has burst and still life goes on and we need to make a paycheck.  If you think you will benefit from taking the exam (if only personally) then just do it.
Same here . . . no personal experience
My sister had it done a couple of years ago, and we are all (the whole family)truly amazed that she has 20/20 vision now. No problems with the surgery whatsoever.
Just asking you to consider that your experience is personal, as is theirs.
x
I pay $320/mo with ATT, ATT says no autodialing for personal use, sm
which is what they call when you dial into a phone number for transcription. There must be a real person on the other end, is what they told me. Therefore, I haven't tried vonage, as it says no autodialing. I wish I could find out if anyone else uses vonage and makes long distance calls for MT.
Just a personal preference
I am not the original poster but some people just prefer to do certain types of transcription and it has nothing to do w/ being scared. For me, I prefer clinic notes b/c they are a lot more repetetive and so I find I get more lines with them.
Rather personal question, I would say, --sm
and one that I am not willing to divulge. seems like you are just trying to find out what other companies are paying while you are looking for a job. I am not trying to be snitty, I just don't think, quite frankly, that it is anybody elses business how much I make and who I work for.
k ty my personal is a POS and always dies, especially
x
Good for you! Definitely a personal (sm)
choice to take this exam and I know it's a great feeling to pass. I used the CMT Review Guide as well as the Language of Medicine books to study. Read directions in the test carefully and take your time. Best of luck!