HIPAA News

U.S. Legal/Medical Records Transcribed Offshore Pose Risks to Privacy and Information Security, NCRA Warns

(Jan 23, 2008)-- A growing amount of legal and medical record transcribing is being offshored to foreign countries, posing a new risk of identity theft and disclosure of confidential information of U.S. citizens, the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) warned.

In a "State of Court Reporting" interview, NCRA Executive Director Mark Golden said the practice of transcribing court and medical information overseas is growing, with stringent American privacy and information security rules often sacrificed in an effort to find the cheapest transcribing vendors.

In one instance, Golden noted, transcriptions for an Indiana jury trial were prepared in Hong Kong without the knowledge of the judge or the court and in violation of administrative rules. In another case, a Philippine transcription subcontractor threatened to post medical records of U.S. patients on the Internet unless she was paid in a timely fashion for her services.

Golden said: "Because they are the 'guardians of the record,' NCRA members and other affiliated court reporters have traditionally and historically continued to place the highest value on the accuracy, impartiality, and confidentiality of the records they are creating. Once that content has gone outside the borders of the United States and is being prepared by individuals overseas, we have serious concerns as to whether the same level of scrutiny that Americans are afforded here will be provided abroad to protect that confidential information."

As more and more legal and medical content goes to areas with substantial English-speaking populations, such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, and India, NCRA members worry that privacy and information security will be impossible to guarantee.

"The type of work that court reporters handle every day is extraordinarily sensitive and governed often by local court rules and federal regulations such as the HIPAA Privacy Act, which would essentially lose their impact once the product goes off-shore," Golden said.

Share or bookmarklet this web page at: