Often the first thing that comes to mind when a person thinks about the outsourcing of Medical Record Retrieval is that person's awful experience communicating with "Outsourced" customer service representatives, usually located somewhere outside of the United States. Usually, this is immediately followed up by the valid concerns od sending sensitive medical and health information to a third party in another country. Outsourcing of Medical Record Retrieval has been a sustainable legal practice in the United States for over 40 years, with Medical Legal Reproductions, INC (MLR) having provided these services for more than 30 years. While there are a few record procurement companies that use international call centers to provide this service, MLR prefers to provide service using only in-house employees that are always easy to reach, easy to understand, and easy to secure records with.
As with all things in the past 40 years, digital technology has impacted Medical Record Retrieval in huge and positive ways. What was once an arduous process of shuffling, mailing, and stacking papers is now as easy as a few clicks from any computer. From issuing of a subpoena or authorization thru to delivery and secure online storage of requested records, the entire process is now handled online, fully HIPAA compliant and fully secure.
Outsourcing records collection has many benefits, to name just a few:
- Cost Reduction
- More Complete Records
- Quicker Retrieval
Cost Reduction
It's not always easy to see the potential to save money through outsourcing Medical Record Retrieval. This is due to the fact that most organizations do not track cost directly related with records retrieval as it is adjuvant to the case/claims process. Retrieval of medical records is a time-consuming and monotonous process. Not only must you deal with subpoenas, authorizations, and other forms, but you must also comply with HIPAA regulations and constantly follow up with providers until the records are fully released to you.
