NCRA Statement re Outsourcing
(As adopted by the Board of Directors, February 2009)
Ensuring the Confidentiality and Security of Outsourced Transcription
NCRA supports effective and reasonable law, regulation and standards that protect the accuracy, privacy and security of legal and medical transcription work.
The practice of outsourcing the transcription of court and medical information is growing, driven by the desire for increased productivity and economy. As ‘guardians of the record,’ NCRA members and the court reporting profession as a whole have traditionally and historically placed the highest value on the accuracy, impartiality, security and confidentiality of the records they are creating. While recognizing the need for efficiency and the client’s legitimate desire to manage costs, ensuring the confidentiality and security of the information contained in the records that court reporters and health professionals create remains a fundamental and inviolable obligation. Whenever, during the process of creating the record, the work in progress leaves the custody and control of the court reporter him- or herself, the accountability for the security and confidentiality of its contents and compliance with all applicable laws in the jurisdiction pass with it to the scopist, proofreader, transcriptionist, production facility, or whomever. In particular, once content has gone outside the borders of the United States and is being prepared by individuals overseas, concerns are raised as to whether the same level of security that Americans are afforded domestically will be provided abroad to protect that confidential information.
NCRA notes that various jurisdictions already have laws or regulations in place to regulate, restrict or even prohibit the outsourcing of judicial transcriptions. NCRA supports full compliance with and effective enforcement of such statutes and the creation of additional law, regulation or standards that effectively and reasonably ensure the security of confidential judicial records.