HIPAA forms the basis for medical and healthcare privacy laws in the United States. Interpretation services must comply with HIPAA laws, too, because these companies have relationships with healthcare providers even though language service providers (LSPs) don’t provide medical advice. Today’s blog from Akorbi talks about what you need for HIPAA compliance and interpretation services.
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Business Associate Relationship
When providing interpretation services, an LSP like Akorbi is considered a business associate under HIPAA. Business associates must establish that they protect the information privacy of patients. That means they cannot disclose information other than what is permitted by the contract or required by law. Business associates need to sign confidentiality agreements before performing this kind of work.
Electronic Sharing of Health Information
You might think that electronic sharing of health information only means medical records. For interpretation services, that also means having a secure transmission for remote sessions. Wireless communications must be secure and encrypted. Any files saved on mobile devices must be password-protected.
Access Control
Interpretation services must utilize information access control measures to prevent unauthorized users from seeing or accessing the session.
- The connection must be secure.
- The interpretation session can’t be recorded and saved for later.
- There can’t be any identifying information in the background of both ends of the interpretation session. The walls of the healthcare setting cannot say where the room is located, but the same is true for the interpreter on the other end. For interpretation services, a plain white background without any background noise is best for HIPAA compliance.
Know HIPAA Requirements
Akorbi knows and follows HIPAA requirements in the United States. We only hire interpretation service providers who agree to stay within HIPAA regulations. We also follow contractual obligations as set forth by healthcare providers.
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HIPAA Compliance at Akorbi
Akorbi is one of the top language service providers in the United States. Our staff offers HIPAA-compliant interpretation services in more than 170 languages for healthcare agencies in the United States. Contact Akorbi or call 1-877-4-AKORBI for more information.