The medical records that come under medical coding and billing processes contain highly confidential patient information. To ensure protection of sensitive data, it is necessary that medical practices go in for HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliant services. HIPAA has requirements on security, data backups and other issues that keep patient information safe. Medical facilities can easily find reliable service providers for their medical billing and coding services by doing a web search on ‘HIPAA compliant hosts’.
Secure Medical Coding and Billing Service
Professional medical coding and billing have AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) certified coders. They file patient claims electronically which ensures accuracy, reduces cost and makes management and tracking of claims easy. In short, HIPAA ensures that healthcare providers improve their administrative processes. Tasks ranging from patient scheduling and verifications to authorizations are efficiently handled in the medical billing process.
Features of HIPAA Compliant Services
Companies observing HIPAA regulations provide security to prevent theft or vandalism of any sensitive data that they are entrusted with. Their capabilities, software, functions and even the electronic claims are streamlined according to HIPAA security norms. Their employees are made to sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. They follow 128 bit encryption for all transferred files. Other important highlights of HIPAA compliant services include:
• Special privacy regulations for staff managing the vital patient information
• Periodic backup of data and critical facilities accessibility
• Secure workstations, storage facility and authorized access
• Password protected computers made secure with lockers for critical patient data
• Frequent updates of firewalls and antivirus software on all systems
• Technical evaluations performed on a routine basis
Hiring a HIPAA Compliant Service Provider
Before hiring a service provider to handle their billing and coding tasks, healthcare facilities should check as to what measures have been taken to ensure HIPAA compliance, whether the staff is trained in HIPAA compliance, if periodic records will be supplied and if the provider’s software is compatible with their records management system.
