Three Reasons why HIPAA Compliance is Important

by Kristen White Blogger Patient privacy is the number one rule at a medical facility from protecting their health information to securing financial data and insurance information contained in the computer system. At the same time, patients should also be guaranteed their privacy when they call in after-hours to leave a message or speak to a physician about an emergency. When the office hires any medical answering services, they are responsible for ensuring that privacy laws are followed with no exception.
 
This is one reason why automated services are more reliable than ‘live’ call centers because the patient speaks directly to the machine and the message is sent straight to the office where qualified personnel open and review the information. In a call center, patients have to give their info to a human being who then takes the message and passes it on to the concerned person but details could be transcribed incorrectly and they could give out information they aren’t allowed to. If this happens, the medical office could be held responsible for the breach and have to pay fines, fees and other consequences according to the law. This is not only expensive, but it can cost the health practice in other ways.
 
No patient wants to consider that their information may not be safe and kept private so if they learn that there has been a leak or that data is not protected either at the office or through the med answering services, then they will likely go somewhere else. This results in a loss of patients for the facility and a damaged reputation in the community that could be challenging, if not impossible, to recover from. When looking for a reliable message service, take time to understand their approach to HIPAA privacy regulations, how they protect patient data/messages and confirm they have a secure delivery system when sending them over to the office. Paying money to satisfy a fine is easy but it is much more difficult to earn back the trust of the community and restore the relationship with former and new patients.
 
HIPAA compliance is the law and it covers a significant amount of territory to prevent gaps where a patient could be exploited, their information sold or accidental breaches that create a harmful situation.  Every medical practice whether it is general or specialized is required to follow these regulations or else face severe consequences. Doctors have been known to lose their license and livelihood because they trusted the wrong service who take advantage of them and left them in a difficult position. This can be avoided by thoroughly vetting and reviewing the answering service you are considering, trying out their demo, checking out customer feedback reviews and confirming their process. A low flat monthly rate is perfect for the budget so long as it doesn’t mean sacrificing quality, trust or the patient’s peace of mind in the process. Give patients a communication channel they can work with in a service that you can trust has the right security protocols in place to protect your practice.

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Created on Dec 2nd 2019 01:01. Viewed 463 times.

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