Article Highlights
- Technology has created efficiencies in handling medical billing.
- Technology has also introduced data security challenges with patient records.
- Work with PMB to securely manage billings in accordance with HIPAA requirements.
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The growth of technology used in healthcare has been instrumental in creating cohesive medical billing systems and ensuring billing accuracy. Yet, with this rise in health care technology also comes the risk of exposing patient health records to unauthorized persons. In 2019 alone, data breaches that included patient health information increased 37.5% compared to 2018.
Therefore, we have taken additional steps to secure patient information at every level of our medical billing service to support healthcare providers. Consider why protecting patient information is our top priority.
How We Protect Patient Health Information
We know how important it is for your patient records to be protected when sharing sensitive data with our company for billings. Here is how we do our part to look out for your practice.
Method One: Adhering to HIPAA Guidelines
Patient information is sensitive, personal, and should remain confidential. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) created national standards for keeping patient health information safe and confidential. In fact, it serves as the backbone for many lawsuits that occur around the nation where patients feel their health care information was compromised or their right to privacy as a patient was violated.
To maintain patient privacy for our healthcare clients, Precision Medical Billing upholds the guidelines and advisements laid forth by the HIPAA Act. We implement a variety of protocols that restrict access to patient information and only utilize the information that is beneficial to our medical billing processes.
We also require that each client use our HIPAA compliant Citrix client portal. We believe this approach is the safest and easiest way to protect patient information and exchange sensitive information (e.g. test results to verify codes that would apply to billings for certain medical procedures). We support the use of the portal by implementing a variety of security rules to promote the practice of carefully handling protecting patient information.
Method Two: Implementing Proactive Medical Billing Practices
Keeping the security of identified health information at the forefront of our processes, PMB follows best practices that are recommended by HIPAA and within the industry when accessing patient information. This means no more faxes or emails pertaining to patient information.
Whether we are receiving patient records, working in a physician’s EHR, or using our billing software to process claims, we have security rules that have been put in place to assist with protecting patient information.
For example, access to a patient’s entire medical record is not granted. We only have access to what is necessary for billing processing. Ensuring HIPAA compliance in these areas is how we proactively ensure that we protect your patients’ data and only view their sensitive information when absolutely necessary for billing purposes. Software is the ideal method to support this process when compared to a manual exchange of information via faxes or emails.
Method Three: Conducting Practice Audits
Not only do we do our part protecting patient information, but we can also audit your practice’s processes and procedures to determine if there are gaps where patient information could be inadvertently exposed.
In today’s digital healthcare environment, we recognize the inevitability of a system having vulnerabilities that you may be unaware of. We consider it our job to find these issues before they become a problem. By allowing our team of experts to evaluate your system and procedures, we can work with you to close any gaps before the wrong party gains access to sensitive medical records.
Not only does our involvement ensure that health information stays protected, but we can also help create transparency within your organization. Specifically, we can perform an RCM (Revenue Cycle Management) assessment of your practice to uncover lost dollars and loose compliance practices.
You want to be able to validate your activity when faced with a review of compliance with HIPAA requirements. Optimizing your systems and processes can go a long way to prove that you did everything possible to protect records should you ever experience a data breach. In fact, a failure to take appropriate measures could be considered negligent in some cases.
Let PMB help your practice. Let’s work together to secure your health information system by conducting an audit in a controlled testing environment.
Reach out to Precision Medical Billing for More Information
Precision Medical Billing provides outsourced medical billing services to healthcare providers that lack resources and need expert support. We assist in claims processing and medical billing in a way that is secure and effective. With extensive knowledge of healthcare laws and practices, we can assure you that our team will adhere to HIPAA requirements when reviewing or working with patient information.
Providing exceptional care to patients should be your top priority, so let us fill in the gaps with medical billing. Then, you can spend more time focusing on patient care. PMB will take care of all your medical billing needs and provide you peace of mind that we are protecting patient information in a manner that is secure and ethical.
– Call us today to schedule a free consultation about your current need for medical billing support. We’re here to help your practice or healthcare organization!
