Speech-to-Text Services: Provider Confidentiality
Professional STTS providers are accountable to maintain confidentiality in all situations. This commitment to privacy is essential, as confidentiality applies to all situations, including fieldwork settings, internship experiences, and in large or small group meetings. To formalize these standards, some schools and organizations may also choose to add provisions regarding professionalism and confidentiality in the employment contract.
Ethics and Professional Accountability
Are service providers held accountable to keeping class information, activities and fieldwork experiences confidential? Accountability is maintained through various professional certifications and ethical codes:
- CART providers are certified by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and bound to the Captioners Code of Professional Ethics, obligating them to operate with professionalism, confidentiality, and discretion.
- Meaning-for-meaning providers agree to follow their respective Code of Professional Conduct tenets.
- C-Print Captionists must adhere to the C-Print Captionist Code of Ethics.
- TypeWell Transcribers follow the TypeWell Transcriber Duties and Code of Ethics.
HIPAA and Medical Fieldwork
A common concern in professional training is: If a deaf medical student utilizes an interpreter or speech-to-text provider, does it impact HIPAA’s patient privacy rule? HIPAA’s patient privacy rule addresses having a third party present, such as an interpreter or STTS provider. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) clarifies that the use of professional service providers is appropriate to ensure all parties have access to information.
Transcript Ownership and Legal Standards
Regarding the handling of records, STTS providers also do not hold claim to transcripts and can only share transcripts with individuals with explicit permission of the “client” (i.e. the school or organization who coordinates STTS). Furthermore, there is an additional note in the NCRA Code of Ethics regarding Fair Use Doctrine and Copyright Act, which explains the legal context of copyrighted materials and provides guidance on contract language.