Professional STTS providers are accountable to maintain confidentiality in all situations.
Some schools and organizations may also choose to add provisions regarding professionalism and confidentiality in the employment contract.
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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. STTS professionals may also be members of the Association of Transcribers and Speech-to-Text Providers (ATSP) which has its own Code of Professional Conduct.
HIPAA and Other Special Situations
Confidentiality applies to all situations, including fieldwork settings, internship experiences, and in large or small group meetings.
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.
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). 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.
