Medical Record Indexing

Posted by Ecareindia on October 19th, 2013

Among the several factors that determine the success of US medical billing companies and Healthcare outsourcing Providers, indexing medical records is one piece that has a great significance. Since it keeps track of key information such as patient demographics, clinical history and medical reports in one place for easy access later, maintaining and securing such medical records is highly imperative. Indexing medical records is not as simple as fishing in a barrel. It requires a lot of knowledge and experience. From patient demographics and medical charts to insurance bills and EOBs, everything has to be indexed with extreme care. Let’s discuss the importance of indexing medical records.

Security Factor: As we all know that Patient Health Information (PHI) is secured by the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) of 1996, it is mandatory that indexing medical records also follows the same criteria. If a healthcare provider wishes to share the patient information with a medical billing company via FTP, email, fax or commercial cloud provider, then he has to strictly follow the Privacy and Security Rule of the HIPAA act. Not just that! The medical billing company that obtains the patient information should also be compliant to HIPAA standards. The same concept applies to medical record indexing. When a US healthcare entity chooses to outsource medical record indexing function to an offshore company, then it has to check whether the company is HIPAA compliant for security reasons.

Knowledge Factor: Indexing medical records, as said earlier, is not as simple as a walk in the park. It involves great complexities, which cannot be handled by any layperson. So, only a team of well trained and skilled professionals with knowledge of medical terminologies can index and maintain medical records in an accurate manner. Besides the indexing function, the professional team also has to periodically review the indexed medical records to ensure accuracy and consistency. Before partnering with an offshore medical billing company, a US healthcare entity has to check whether its employees have expert knowledge on the indexing medical record functions. If not all, at least a group of employees must be adept in understanding the nuances and carrying out indexing services skillfully. Many generic BPO companies claim to offer these services without understanding the HIPAA and knowledge requirements.

Checking for the aforementioned security and knowledge factors in an offshore medical billing company is extremely important for US healthcare outsourcing companies. By doing so, the outsourced revenue cycle management companies can be relieved of the complex medical record indexing functions and devote their time to other important medical billing functions for smooth running of business. Also, they can witness a positive cash flow and uninterrupted revenue cycle management. ISO 27001:2005 and 9001:2008 certified as well as HIPAA compliant, e-Care India is one reliable offshore company that performs medical record indexing in a professional yet accurate manner.

About e-Care India:

e-Care India is one of the renowned medical billing companies in India that promises the above mentioned benefits with total customer satisfaction. With 13 years of experience in the industry, e-Care’s 3 offshore medical billing delivery centers have been providing end-to-end medical billing services and indexing medical records services seamlessly to its clients. To know more about e-Care and its services, log on to http://www.ecareindia.com/