| With the immense popularity of offshore outsourcing, | | | | |
| more and more industry sectors are adopting it as an | | | | Secure Physical Location |
| inherent strategical function. One of the major | | | | If possible, visit your service provider's company to |
| industries that rely on the outsourcing model is – | | | | check out their security arrangements. A professional |
| Medical & Health Care Industry. Be it clinical research | | | | service provider would have manned security at entry |
| or trials or medical transcription tasks or simple data | | | | and exit points, surveillance cameras, not allow any |
| entry work thereof, offshore outsourcing has become | | | | removable storage devices and have only limited |
| a norm than an exception. | | | | access of systems and information on a need to |
| However, is outsourcing of medical records and patient | | | | know basis. |
| information really safe? | | | | Ensures Complete Data Security |
| Security Challenges in Medical Data Entry Outsourcing | | | | In addition to ensuring that your data doesn't leave the |
| Security of data is one of the key challenges faced by | | | | premises of the company, your service provider should |
| the offshore outsourcing industry. With stories about | | | | ensure data security by incorporating security |
| recent cases of data leakage and misuse of | | | | measures like data encryption protocols, multi-tiered |
| information, the very concept of offshore outsourcing | | | | application architecture, design level security, |
| is under scrutiny. | | | | safeguards, firewall protected networks, sterilized |
| Health care facilities that outsource their medical data | | | | e-mail servers, denial of access procedure and multi |
| entry works have absolutely no idea as to who is | | | | model alerts. It’s always advisable to go for the |
| actually doing their work. There are cases wherein the | | | | vendor which not only uses the latest state of |
| outsourcing service provider sub-contracts the work to | | | | technology for your work but also has trained personal |
| smaller companies and thereby lose control over the | | | | to handle such software with firmness and accuracy. |
| end transcriber. This can result into serious | | | | |
| consequences for the client. | | | | Expert Data Entry Professionals |
| What Needs To Be Done? | | | | Medical data entry is a great deal different from |
| To cut a long story short, everything depends upon | | | | regular data entry jobs. It requires a strong medical |
| your choice of service provider. In order to avoid any | | | | background and effective knowledge of clinical |
| such mis-happenings, you need to ensure that, while | | | | research and trials. Moreover, you need to ensure that |
| outsourcing the medical data entry tasks, you choose | | | | the people working on your data are educated on the |
| an ethical and professional service provider. This can | | | | importance of being HIPAA and HITECH compliant. |
| be done by checking his track record with other | | | | Also for better results in specific types of data entry |
| companies. Here are some things you need to look out | | | | tasks, it might be preferred that before initiating a |
| for: | | | | project some customized training pertaining the nature |
| No Use of Sub Contractors | | | | of the project is provided to the team appointed to be |
| Choose a service provider that does not use sub | | | | dealing with that project. Such trainings can be given |
| contractors for executing the work. In addition you | | | | jointly by the two outsourcing partners. |
| need to be diligent and keep monitoring the progress | | | | The above points act as the checklist for verifying and |
| of the service provider throughout the project. Another | | | | finalizing the service provider before signing the deal |
| important thing you need to ensure is to draft a | | | | with him. Also the terms of contract should be |
| professional contract that contains a clear “no sub | | | | designed in a manner to cover the data security and |
| contractor clause” within it. | | | | confidentiality clause as well apart from the legal and |
| Prioritize Customer Services | | | | financial terms. Even a penalty clause and a risk |
| You need to make sure that your service provider | | | | management plan should be well discussed between |
| should prioritize their customers’ needs in the best | | | | the two partners to be able to properly handle the |
| and all the work that you outsource to them is taken | | | | negative effects in case of any leakage of information |
| care of by their own team of trained professionals. | | | | data or breach of any terms of contract. |