What Information Should Be Professionally Stored and ProtectedVarious State and Federal Laws mandate that you protect private information. In order to be compliant with the various state and federal laws and protect yourself, stockholders, employees, and customers/patients, you should protect all confidential and outdated material. Any electronic information which contains confidential material (payroll information, designs, proposals, plans, and drafts of such information.). Any electronic information. which could cause harm in the hands of criminals or competitors (price lists, business plans, credit card numbers) Why Outsource Your Electronic File Hosting
You Save Time and Money Accessing FilesImprove access time to find your important files once they have been professionally scanned and indexed by a member of Document Scanning Companies of America. Having digital images on-line, helps reduce time to respond to questions (eliminate telephone tag by answering questions while the customer is on the phone). Your overall customer service should improve Occupancy Costs Can be ReducedWhole files rooms can be scanned and stored at professional file hosting companies. Then the information can be placed in professional long term storage reducing your occupancy costs. Compliance With HIPAA - FACTAFiles stored online can enhance the security of your confidential records by restricting the accessibility of the private, confidential files to those who are authorized to have access to the data. The Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule from the Department of Human Services, specifically requires "securing records under lock and key.…and limiting access….." The Disposal Rule of FACTA, requires entities covered by the rule to take "reasonable measures" to protect against unauthorized access to or use of information. Lost and Misfiled Records ReducedFiles which have been scanned and are stored by a professional hosting company can reduce the cost associated with lost, misfiled and checked out files. Multiple People Can Access the Files at One TimeOnce your files are digitally scanned, you will be allowed to have more than one person have access to a file at one time. Disaster RecoveryIf your organization should fall victim to a natural or man made disaster, you want to be completely up and running with no lost data as fast as possible. Recovering from a disaster is no time to start rebuilding your data from hard copy. Proper media backup can shorten the recovery time. Off-site backup is vital to properly protect your company Typical Motivation for Outsourcing Your Electronic FIle Hosting.Do you spend too much time retrieving records? Do some of your documents actually get lost? Files stored in a central location and that are reviewed periodically have a great chance of being mis-filed or never refilled. The result is that it takes a great amount of time to find such files.
Do you need more immediate access to files? Is the amount of time it takes to retrieve a file from the file room simply too long? Do you need instant access to the files? Is immediate customer service becoming extremely important?
Are you running out of space for the hard copy files? Are you looking at the costs of special filing systems, such as rolling files? Are you looking at the costs of acquiring more office space for file storage?
Do you feel a need to reduce your overall costs associated with storing, retrieving, refilling and the safety and security of your documents?
Are your files safe in their current storage location? Do your current storage methods comply with the various privacy laws such as HIPAA or GLB or Facta?
If you had a disaster such as a hurricane, flood or fire, are your current documents protected? Scanning Protects the Privacy of Personal Information - The Law
Scanning your confidential documents can make it easier to restrict and control the access of documents to only those who are properly authorized. The laws state that it is the responsibility to do everything in your power to limit unnecessary access to confidential documents. What better way to restrict the access to private confidential information than to remove the paper records and only allow authorized employees access to the digital images. HIPAAHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), was enacted in 1996 and includes provisions intended to safeguard the privacy of patient health records. HIPAA is a significant piece of legislation with onerous penalties. For a full text of the SUMMARY OF THE HIPAA PRIVACY RULE from the Department of Human Services, available online go to: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.rtf. See page 16 of this document in regards to specifically "securing records under lock and key.…and limiting access….." Data Safeguards. A covered entity must maintain reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent intentional or unintentional use or disclosure of protected health information in violation of the Privacy Rule and to limit its incidental use and disclosure pursuant to otherwise permitted or required use or disclosure. For example, such safeguards might include only allowing authorized personnel the access to confidential electronic records. HIPAA LINKS American Health
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