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In an era where patient privacy and data security are critical, the healthcare industry constantly encounters challenges balancing operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. Medical institutions must ensure accurate paperwork while delivering high-quality patient care.
Due to the increasing complexity of data management, healthcare organizations turn to business process outsourcing (BPO) to streamline this non-core function. Service providers offer cost-effective access to expertise and technology to protect sensitive patient records.
If you are considering adopting BPO to improve healthcare data management, you must first understand the processes behind it. Let this article guide you.
BPO’s Role in Healthcare Data Management
Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated sectors worldwide because it involves nurturing and saving lives. To protect confidential health information, stakeholders must adhere to stringent government and industry regulations.
Amid all those efforts, what is BPO’s position in the complicated healthcare landscape? Does the practice only bring cost savings and easy access to scalable resources? How do service providers safeguard medical records from potential security risks?
Let us discuss the specifics below.
Accelerate Data Entry and Management
BPO companies combine their human expertise and cutting-edge technology to speed up data processing tasks for healthcare businesses. Recent research shows that 29% of companies use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate data collection and reporting across complex operations.
Support vendors optimize the advanced tool for the same purpose. They deploy and integrate AI into the following systems to handle confidential healthcare data cost-effectively:
- Robotic process automation (RPA) performs repetitive, rule-based data entry tasks. Besides accelerating the function, RPA helps minimize errors in manually encoding sensitive information.
- Optical character recognition (OCR) technology converts documents into machine-readable text. It extracts information from paper-based health records, invoices, and other files.
- Natural language processing (NLP) helps understand and interpret unstructured data. Some examples include physician notes or patient narratives in electronic health records (EHRs).
- Electronic data interchange (EDI) facilitates healthcare information exchange between multiple digital systems. It improves data transfer speed and accuracy, especially in claims processing and billing services.
- Health information exchange (HIE) systems enable data sharing among healthcare companies, enhancing interoperability.
- Cloud-based solutions provide a flexible infrastructure for storing, accessing, and organizing health data. They also serve as cost-efficient data backup and recovery tools, ensuring business continuity during emergencies.
- Business intelligence and analytics tools automatically collect and generate insights from various online data sources. The results help BPO companies and clients monitor trends and improve healthcare data management operations.
- Workflow management systems coordinate task distribution related to medical data processes. It ensures each step is executed efficiently and promptly.
Provide EHR System Support
BPO vendors assist medical institutions in managing and maintaining EHR systems. The platform contains patients’ medical history, diagnosis, and personal information. It is costly and time-consuming to oversee; outsourcing offers affordable options to address such gaps.
Service providers let healthcare organizations focus on delivering superior patient care services by taking over these repetitive EHR tasks:
- Set up and configure EHR software based on the client’s requirements.
- Deliver a frontline help desk to support healthcare professionals using the EHR system.
- Use chatbots and ticketing systems to automate responses to technical issues.
- Access the EHR platform remotely to troubleshoot problems quickly and effectively.
- Lead ongoing training and education for healthcare staff regarding EHR system usage.
- Prepare knowledge base materials for system features, updates, and best practices.
- Initiate system upgrades and patch management activities to avoid disruptions.
- Employ monitoring tools to track the EHR system’s performance.
- Use system metrics to identify performance flaws and areas for improvement.
- Generate reports on system usage, performance, and support ticket logs.
- Recommend appropriate strategies to minimize system errors and enhance capabilities.
- Curate feedback from end users to address their EHR system concerns accordingly.
Ways BPO Ensures Healthcare Data Compliance and Privacy
The healthcare industry is one of the most targeted sectors worldwide. According to reports sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the segment experienced a 21.4% month-over-month increase in medical data breaches in August 2023.
Among these incidents is a ransomware attack on a file transfer solution. Cybercriminals exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the platform, resulting in around $75 million–$100 million in losses.
Hence, you must verify whether your potential BPO partner carries out best practices to safeguard your confidential data and patient privacy. Ensure the provider performs the following methods before finalizing and signing an official BPO healthcare data management contract:
Implement Robust Cybersecurity Measures
BPO firms execute strict cybersecurity protocols to protect patient data and privacy. By aligning security techniques and solutions with their clients, they help avoid wasting millions of dollars.
Additionally, third-party vendors employ specialists to provide cybersecurity consulting and strategic planning, helping clients address security challenges beforehand. Below are the healthcare data security measures that BPO companies implement:
- Data encryption
- Remote access control
- Multifactor authentication
- Biometrics and facial recognition
- Regular system auditing and maintenance
- Firewall management
- Network security monitoring
- Incident response planning and implementation
- Employee training and awareness
- Software update installation
Adhere to HIPAA Regulations
BPO providers comply with the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Transparency Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to secure classified medical records. This law provides critical guidelines for EHR, medical billing, and other healthcare services.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) often receives complaints against numerous healthcare businesses, such as national pharmacy chains and medical centers. The cases involve privacy violations and issues. As of September 2023, the OCR had imposed a civil money penalty in 137 cases totaling approximately $137 million.
BPO companies specializing in healthcare data management aim to avoid such fines by adhering to HIPAA regulations. They implement the listed guidelines for health data and privacy protection:
- Protected health information (PHI) usage and disclosure rules
- Electronic PHI (ePHI) security protocols
- Breach notification requirements
- Business associate agreements
- PHI access standards
- Individual rights for PHI handling, amendment, and request
- Training and awareness programs for HIPAA regulations
- Risk assessment and mitigation measures
- Compliance documentation and recordkeeping
- Disaster recovery and incident response planning
- Physical and technical safeguards for unauthorized PHI and ePHI access prevention
Highlight Data Privacy in Contract Terms and Conditions
Service vendors work closely with healthcare enterprises to emphasize data privacy in contract terms and conditions. Both parties jointly clarify their roles and responsibilities when handling and exchanging patient information.
These contractual provisions strengthen trust between BPO organizations, healthcare institutions, and patients. The specified measures help establish a secure environment for healthcare data management outsourcing:
- Incorporate privacy rules into agreements to ensure alignment with legal requirements.
- Define the scope of PHI covered under the agreement.
- Clarify health data ownership and control.
- Articulate strict accountability measures for healthcare data confidentiality and privacy.
- Detail the security measures to take during the contract period.
- Specify data minimization and retention rules.
- Include regular data security auditing and reporting schedules.
- Outline procedures for real-time data breach notification.
- List terms and requirements for employee training and awareness programs.
- Enumerate dispute resolution mechanisms for resolving disputes related to data privacy.
The Bottom Line
BPO companies offer cost-effective healthcare data management support. They employ human expertise and modern technology to enhance the processing and protection of medical records.
Service providers implement critical security and compliance measures to establish trust and credibility when handling sensitive health information. They follow HIPAA and privacy regulations to safeguard patient data against potential cyber threats.
Let’s connect if you want to learn more about how a BPO company boosts your healthcare data-focused functions. Unity Communications also offers competitively priced service packages to streamline your healthcare data processes.
