ASTM E1959

This guide is intended to assist healthcare institutions in creating appropriate requests for proposals to be issued for medical transcription services.

This guide provides recommended guidelines for the essential elements to be included in requests for proposals issued to medical transcription services. The purpose of these requests is contracting for the production and delivery of transcribed patient care documentation for a healthcare institution.

This guide recognizes the necessity of a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement.

This guide recognizes the necessity of researching local, state, and federal requirements that may apply.

1. Scope

1.1 This guide covers recommended guidelines to healthcare institutions for the development and issuance of requests for proposals (RFPs), as well as guidelines for medical transcription service organizations (MTSOs) responding to requests for proposals. It does not purport to address all of the legal aspects of the RFP, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this guide to establish appropriate legal guidelines prior to use.

1.2 It is appropriate for healthcare institutions to issue RFPs from time to time or at regular contractual intervals for the purpose of facilitating the process of contracting for medical transcription services.

1.3 It is anticipated that both a commercial contract for services and a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement will be based upon the responding proposals submitted to the RFP.

2. Referenced Documents

E1384 Guide for Content and Structure of the Electronic Health Record (EHR)
E1762 Guide for Electronic Authentication of Health Care Information
E1869 Guide for Confidentiality, Privacy, Access, and Data Security Principles for Health Information Including Electronic Health Records
E1902 Specification for Management of the Confidentiality and Security of Dictation, Transcription, and Transcribed Health Records
E2117 Guide for Identification and Establishment of a Quality Assurance Program for Medical Transcription
E2184 Specification for Healthcare Document Formats
E2344 Guide for Data Capture through the Dictation Process
AAMT Book of Style, Second Edition, 2002
American Association for Medical Transcription (AAMT), Metrics for Measuring Quality in Medical Transcription, 2005
Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA), Billing Method Principles
Public Law 1004-191 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

Index Terms

analog dictation; billing method principles; compliance clause; confidentiality; data mining; digital dictation; disclosure; disaster planning and recovery; document access; document distribution; document storage; electronic health record; electronic protected health information; HIPAA; medical transcription service; protected health information; request for proposal; taped dictation; turnaround time; unit of measure

Citing ASTM Standards

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