Transcend
Services relies on Ravlin security solution to ensure confidentiality of
patient data over the Internet
Transcend Services, Inc., (NASDAQ: TRCR)
is a leading provider in delivering Web based medical dictation and
transcription services. Using Internet based technology and a network of
300 home based medical transcriptionists, the company serves a nationwide
customer base of clinics, hospitals, and integrated delivery networks. The
company currently has over 25,000 registered physicians using its systems
and now that HIPAA compliance has become a major concern to every
healthcare provider, Shawn Walsh can assure new customers that Transcend
Services is well positioned to support regulations with the help of
Ravlin.
The
Situation
Until it began moving its transcription
services to the Internet, Transcend Services had ten offices around the
country in place to service nearby clients. Running such a geographically
dispersed operation presented quite a few problems. Finding qualified
medical transcriptionists from the local work pool was not always a given.
Being able to load balance the workload when necessary also proved
difficult. When one region's transcriptionists were sidelined by illness
(as when a flu epidemic hit Pennsylvania), Transcend was unable to offload
the work to available staff in other parts of the country in a timely or cost-effective
manner.
But the largest problem facing the
business and its bottom line was enormous monthly telecommunications
charges. Transcriptionists were dialing in to dictation capture systems at
hospitals. Often, transcriptionists lived outside the calling area and
incurred intrastate charges in doing so. In an attempt to reduce costs,
Transcend installed frame relay systems in a few regions, but the monthly
bills were still averaging over $120,000 nationwide.
Noting the increasing popularity of the
Internet as a business tool, the proverbial light bulb went off at
Transcend Service's headquarters. Here was a medium that could offer
efficiencies to the company's operations and ultimately reduce overhead
expenses. The initial goal was to reduce the number of regional offices
and ultimately eliminate them in favor of a single, centralized processing
center in Atlanta. A team of engineers began working on how to effectively
move the transcription service to the Internet.
The solution they came up with centered
around a platform that everyone in the transcription cycle---from
physicians to transcriptionists to Transcend's operational staff--- could
use. The Transcription 2000 dictation platform, or T2K as it's called,
allows data to travel between the Atlanta hub, the customer sites, and the
home based transcriptionists (Medical Language Specialists), effectively
eliminating geographic barriers.
Here's how it works: T2K maintains
``work pools'' of Medical Language Specialists with predetermined details
of their experience, specialties, and other qualifications. When a
physician dials into the T2K dictation platform through an 800 number, a
digital voice capturing device stores the dictation on a server in
Atlanta. The voice files are then compressed, encrypted and transferred
over a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to the central voice hub. The
software then matches the physician request to an appropriate Medical
Language Specialist who is available for work and may be located anywhere
in the country. Connecting to the Internet through a local ISP, the
Medical Language Specialist downloads the files and plays back the voice
recording to create an electronic document. The document is then
electronically returned to the Atlanta hub for a rigorous review. Once
approved, the final document is sent to the client's T2K Distribution
Server for delivery.
At this point, the document can be sent
electronically to a central Health Information Management or Electronic
Document Management system. The HIM system stores the entire medical
record in one place to be retrieved later by the attending physician,
surgeon or other practitioner as they need it. The document may also be
sent automatically to a physician's email address, or to a printer, fax
machine or another source.
The
Challenge
Due to the sensitivity of the data being
transmitted---patient medical records---Transcend had to incorporate an
encryption solution that would meet federal Health and Human Services
(HHS) guidelines and healthcare privacy standards recently established
under the new federal HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act).
HIPAA's privacy regulation requires that
an organization ensure that patient data is kept confidential and seen
only by authorized personnel---even after it has been transferred to an
outside entity like Transcend. Healthcare organizations have until
February 2003 to comply with the privacy and security requirements, and
industry efforts to delay HIPAA enforcement are in the works. Still, Shawn
Walsh, Transcend's National Director of Technical Services, knew that
becoming as close to HIPAA compliant from the onset of Internet deployment
was essential. "HIPAA pushed us forward as far as installing a
Virtual Private Network," he says. "We now have the reputation
among Internet based medical transcription service providers and clients
as the closest to being HIPAA compliant. We believe this helps
differentiate us and ultimately win business."
The
Solution
The encryption solution Transcend
Services chose was based on the Ravlin® hardware based
VPN product line. According to Walsh, Ravlin had both the hardware and
software they needed in a complete outofthebox solution. Walsh also
liked the fact that Ravlin was an industry leader from whom other
security vendors purchased products. Also, unlike other vendors, SonicWALL
had robust channels in place insuring availability of the Ravlin devices.
Ravlins are currently installed at all of Transcend's customer sites,
currently 40 hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Transcend's
staff of 300 transcriptionists use RavlinSoft, a client software
tool, to help insure secure VPN connection when they connect to the
Atlanta hub.
Walsh's team installs the Ravlin devices
as part of the T2K server installation at hospital sites. It was while
working in the trenches, so to speak, that they truly became impressed
with the product line. The network situation that they encounter at each
hospital is different---sometimes faced with using a hospital's T1
connection, other times installation of a separate Internet connection is
necessary. "We interface with many hospitals and environments, and
the Ravlins are never a roadblock," explains Walsh. "They manage
to fit into every situation." Transcend's Network Architecture
Drawing courtesy of Transcend Services, Inc.
In addition to the product line's
flexibility, Walsh also appreciates the quick response time when he calls
Ravlin's support. "Since these installations are often time critical,
it's very comforting to know that I can get to someone in minutes."
And now that HIPAA compliance has become a major concern to every
healthcare provider, Walsh can assure new customers that Transcend
Services is well positioned to support HIPAA
regulations with the help of Ravlin. ``About 80 percent of my job now
involves security and I spend a lot of time educating hospitals about VPNs
in general and Ravlins specifically. White papers and other
technical support help make the education process go smoother," he
says.
The Internet based VPN solution has
brought Transcend Services better margins due to eliminating the large
overhead associated with operating ten offices. Transcend's
telecommunications expenses is one item that has been significantly
reduced. "We went from monthly bills averaging $120,000 to our
current bill of $30,000," notes Walsh.
Since moving its operations to the
Internet about four years ago, Transcend Services has created an
extraordinarily efficient system that is changing the way medical
transcription services are offered. "Our position as the only
transcription service provider using one platform and an industry leader
in HIPAA compliance are competitive advantages that will undoubtedly
benefit us as we expand," says Walsh.
About
SonicWALL
SonicWALL with the recent acquisition of RedCreek
Communications
leads the industry in enabling the world's leading companies to expand the
borders of their enterprises without increasing the vulnerability of their
information assets. SonicWALL provides integrated hardware and software
VPN packages that ensure the privacy of information as it is transmitted
across public and private networks and provides managed access to
corporate resources. With one of the largest installed customer bases in
retail, financial services and technology, the company offers products
ranging from pocketsize to rack mount with connections ranging from
dialup and DSL to T1 and high speed OC3 lines.
