Certifying records when outsourcing the ROI function
HIM Connection, December 9, 2008
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Q: We outsource our release of information (ROI) function. The company that we use scans the charts, prints them out at a centralized location, and then mails the copies to the requestor. When copies need to be certified, this poses some questions regarding how to best certify the copies as true and exact copies of the original medical record. Do you have any advice you could give to us regarding how to certify these records?
A: Before the HIM director can certify the records as true and complete copies, he or she must see the copies printed elsewhere and compare them against the record in his or her system. This is the only way to validate that the outsource company printed all pages of the record. This is one of the challenges of using an outsource firm that does not process the record entirely on site.
Similarly, this type of arrangement leaves the HIM director with little opportunity to verify that the outsourcing company only sends the requestor the minimum necessary information. When a hospital has one of these arrangements, it is important to build a comprehensive liability clause into the contract. Place the burden on the outsource firm because it is reaping the benefits of the centralized approach.
Editor’s note: Rose T. Dunn, RHIA, CPA, FACHE, chief operating officer of First Class Solutions, Inc., in Maryland Heights, MO, answered this question.
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