Good Morning!
This is such a great topic and one that definitely affects so many in the healthcare industry. HIPAA concerns, liability and legal consequences are the "hot topics" now whether the violation takes place in-house, at a vendor or medical billing service facility or offshore. Everyone involved in the management of health records should take the necessary steps to avoid compliance issues.
The article you offered as a source raised many good points as well as questions about this growing trend. However, as with anything else, one's own interpretation is just that - their own. You quoted the downside of offshore outsourcing and yet, you didn't point out the many advantages listed directly above that paragraph. As with anything else, there are pros and cons to any given situation.
My interpretation of the article is that AHIMA actually does, in fact, recognize the legal consequences of offshore outsourcing and that is the reason why they have stopped offering their credentials and access to exams to many countries outside of the U.S.
"The Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) has recently instituted an indefinite moratorium on AHIMA credential testing in several countries due to exam security concerns. After receiving reports that AHIMA's CCS and CCA exams' security had been compromised in India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), CCHIIM moved in spring 2013 to suspend all AHIMA exam testing in countries considered to be at high or moderate risk for testing security concerns by its international certification testing partner, Pearson VUE."Further research into AHIMA's stand on offshore outsourcing can be found and one article in particular from 2010 shows how AHIMA
did mention the legal consequences of offshore outsourcing. This has been a growing concern for many hospitals and other healthcare facilities for some time.
http://journal.ahima.org/2010/11/01/transcription-compliance-under-hitech/As far as here in the "good old U.S. of A", it should be noted how many breaches and violations occur on a daily basis right here in our own country. Anyone handling medical records should take the necessary precautions to protect patient's privacy.