Question regarding Medical Records and Privacy....

[hang a left]

Is there a database that someone can access that would give someone the names of physicians you have seen without you actually providing that information??? Even if you don't have health insurance?

[hang a left]

1. .....

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Kick because it's a good question.

If a person provided his/her SSN to these physicians it wouldn't take much to link the records. HIPAA theoretically puts controls in place but if the person signs a waiver at any point that allows blanket access to medical records (perhaps as part of an insurance application) it may be considered within the HIPAA guidelines.

Come on DUers, any experts in this area?

[rodeodance]

3. the new provisions in the PA will do just that (which dems are fighting)

[havocmom]

4. Don't know for sure, but ponder on this: Medical transcription outsourced

by many. So, if your medical info is contracted out for transcription, and that transcription is done off shore, where there may not be laws protecting such information, one might assume not all medical information is safe and private.

The companies doing the contract work could also be selling the info to other corporate entities... like maybe insurance companies. Just look at how your cell phone records got available. Draw your own conclusions.

[Horse with no Name]

6. The silver lining in this is

MANY docs do not want transcription outsourced, not only because of privacy issues but because of quality issues.
I predict that this practice will cease in the near future.

[havocmom]

8. The accompanying cloud: Doctors are squeezed financially

and forced into groups. The bean counters make the decisions for most. And then there are the hospitals...

Medical transcription used to be something people in rural areas could do for employment. After some classes in medical terminology and with special dedicated computers, farm and ranch wives were encouraged to do this to supplement the family income. It was cheaper for the corporations than paying people on-site in urban centers.

Now, that employment choice has all but disappeared for the folks who were doing it here in the US. Course, they still had to pay plenty for the training... But the companies running the services like overseas workers better.

Oh, and some frequent flyer call centers for US airlines... movin on out too. So now all your travel info is out floating around, along with your credit card info.

[Horse with no Name]

9. If you go to mtjobs.com

You'll see there are quite a few companies in dire need of American transcriptionists. Some are offering sign on bonuses.
I actually don't think the jobs are disappearing as fast as the transcriptionists are.:shrug:
There were 7 companies posted yesterday looking for people, 1 posted so far today and most of them offered benefits.

[havocmom]

10. The people around here doing it have had their jobs outsourced

Know that for a fact but can't prove it to you. Perhaps when they get fast enough to make it really pay, the companies move on to fresh and slower typists? :shrug: back at ya

[Horse with no Name]

11. Many hospitals have outsourced it--that I don't deny

Transcription is a service that my company provides, so I do have firsthand knowledge of what the docs think of outsourced transcription and how it is really working.
Doctors are starting to limit it in their practices much more so now than a year or two ago.
Now what the hospitals do is another story. As of right now, the physicians don't have a say in that, although we have noticed an influx of hospital contracts, mainly in the Northern and Eastern states.
One overflow company that I have a contract has starting outsourcing overseas.
I don't use them anymore because many physician's want a guarantee that their info remains in the US.
That is why I gave you the link. Companies like Spheris do NOT outsource their transcription and are always looking for qualified transcriptionists.
In this business, slow doesn't pay, so of course they want the fastest typists out there. They are paid and rewarded very well through these transcription companies that have popped up--even though they are treated like dinosaurs in their own medical communities.
It is more difficult, especially when you start out. For example I have a typist in Texas that works an account in New York. There are many Indian docs at this facility and some have very thick accents which is hard to understand for typists that aren't used to dealing with the dialects.
It took quite awhile for her to get used to that and it obviously slowed her typing time down exponentially. Couple that with the local references of streets and other physician names--especially when transcribing letters that the physicians write. That is of course an obstacle and a huge source of frustration. Local transcriptions are lucky enough to work with the same docs and they know the area and that simply makes the job easier.
But there is a HUGE burnout rate with transcriptionists, as well as many that develop carpal tunnel, etc.
It also isn't a career that many young people are choosing, so that also leads to the shortage of American transcriptionists.

[FlaGranny]

24. I worked in medical transcription just about

my entire life. I started in 1959. It is much more difficult now for a newbie to get a job doing transcription. It used to be that all you had to do was apply at the local hospital and they would train you. When hospitals started outsourcing to contractors, they got a lot fussier with the "product" demanding that it be done more accurately than they ever demanded from their employees. Therefore, the quality demanded of a new transcriptionist increased. Medical transcription schools cropped up to do the training. I have yet to see a new MT coming fresh out of school who was expert medical transcriptionist, and it is still difficult to get hired after training. This all created a shortage of MTs, which still exists. A highly experienced MT has absolutely NO trouble getting work and never did. A side effect of all this has been an increase in wages over the years, more expensive transcription, and some companies dabbling in outsourcing to other countries where there is cheaper labor. Many US companies now advertise that they do not outsource outside the country. Some companies still do, but, in my experience, it doesn't save a whole lot of money, and quality does sometimes suffer.

[havocmom]

7. Oh, and many IRS tax returns are contracted out for processing

and done off shore too. What should be private between you and the IRS is often sent to private corporations to play with. They are gonna get the work done as cheap as possible. Think about THAT!

And many mortgage companies outsource loan processing now too. My daughter deals with banks and mortgage companies every day. Getting calls from overseas with questions about real estate transactions. Getting calls regarding transactions in states other than where she works and frustrated trying to get through to the callers that they have to call someone in a different geographic area, she can't help them with info about land in Texas or Minnesota. After continual and more rude calls on the same properties in other states, she called some of the mortgage companies' local offices and got them to fess up to outsourcing processing.

Feeling safer, America? Your medical and financial info is getting bounced all over the globe and to places without laws protecting it/you.

Brave new world. Not necessarily a better one, unless you are a CEO of some huge multinational corp and have data on everyone to make it easier (and more profitable) to exploit them.

[Horse with no Name]

5. There isn't a database per se

But they do enter your Social Security number into a system so that IF you were to apply for health insurance, with a little perseverance they could track your activity.

[hang a left]

12. Ok I realize that health insurers would probably have access to this

but what about just say, a hospital, or a doctor, or even a clerk in a court somewhere, or a private individual, is there some type of service that they could access by using your social security number to find out medical information about you.

on edit: or even not just medical information, what about information from a therapist, or psychiatrist, or a chiropractor, or a dentist also.

[Horse with no Name]

14. Not without your express signed permission

:)

Edited to add:
If you were involved in a shooting, stabbing or other violent crime, this is reportable to law enforcement by the physician.

[hang a left]

16. How would they find out what doctor or hospital to submit their

request to?

[Horse with no Name]

19. If you were involved in a crime

The Doctor is required by law to report it.
However, if the doc doesn't report it, then law enforcement wouldn't have a clue where to start.

[hang a left]

21. I am not talking about law enforcement...

I am talking about someone finding out medical or even psychological information.

[hang a left]

22. Let me ask it in a different way...

Let's say someone signed a blanket release but didn't give them a doctor's name or a HMO name or whatever. Could they with a blanket release run down every doctor, therapist, dentist, or whatever that you have ever seen??

[Horse with no Name]

23. No.

They would have to know specifically who to ask and there isn't a database available with that information.

[hang a left]

25. Thank you.

With all this spying and information gathering I kind of freaked out. I really appreciate your time. :hi:

[carolinalady]

13. At this point, no because not all doctors have computerized

records and because you are usually assigned a patient id number that is unique to the facility where you are getting your healthcare, so labs, etc that may be on-line are usually not referenced to a social security number. If your name is submitted to a third party payer, though your ss# is most likely used and could therefore be traced. That is why you have to sign the privacy protection statements at your doctor's office.

[insane_cratic_gal]

15. I believe so

It's a database with your medical records, however.. only someone who has access to the program like an administrator or the people who write the software would have access to it.

It can be accessed from most hospitals around the country. I just applied for a ER registration position and one of the pieces of software is something that you mentioned.

[Horse with no Name]

17. Not without permission and not randomly

If someone isn't involved in direct care of that patient, it is illegal for them to look at their medical records--even if they are an employee in that institution.
Say you work at the hospital. Your neighbor is admitted.
Unless you are performing direct care you can't look at his chart.
If you do, it will get you fired.

[carolinalady]

18. And you could be sued. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

20. That too.

;)