The healthcare industry is one that is embracing and enjoying the advantages of modern technology. With HIPAA Compliant VoIP, the exchange of information has never been easier for medical practices. VoIP is very convenient because it allows practices and clinics to communicate remotely and gain access to shared patient data anywhere at any time. However, there are security risks concerning Protected Health Information (PHI). To avoid unpleasant hassles and penalties, you must understand how HIPAA applies to your VoIP service.
What Is The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act?
Using a HIPAA compliant VoIP system, your patients can sleep comfortably, knowing their private information is safe.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is an act that sets the standard for protecting sensitive patient data. It ensures the privacy and confidentiality of patients’ records. Compliance with the HIPAA Act is mainly for health care industries like hospitals, clinics, and individual practitioners. As you already know, they deal with personal data that is continuously in need of protection.
This, however, does not mean that other industries are not subjected to HIPAA. The HIPAA compliance act extends additional requirements to business associates. Your VoIP provider is considered your business associate since they’ll also be dealing with your patients’ PHI. Your provider is required to sign the HIPAA compliance Business Associate Agreement (BAA). This will provide you with the peace of mind that comes with knowing your VoIP provider is also compliant with HIPAA.
Infinity DataTel has been providing HIPAA Compliant VoIP services since our inception. We have many clients from the healthcare industry and have gained experience helping these businesses best meet their needs. We know how important it is to have patient data secured and under control. You can feel safe knowing that our engineers have decades of experience handling data security. Your security is our top priority!
A HIPAA compliant VoIP system provides many benefits like using your smartphone to send automated messages, capturing patients’ information, sending appointment reminders, filling empty appointment slots, etc. All of these benefits offered by VoIP help make your business more successful. You’ll have the ability to enjoy the advantages of keeping and transmitting protected information in a digital form.
Why Is It Important To Have A HIPAA Compliant VoIP Service?
By having HIPAA compliant VoIP services, your medical office will be more secure and more efficient.
Typically, doctors send information that is not stored in digital forms before transmitting them through communication channels such as fax or voicemail. There is a misconception about why this kind of information exchange shouldn’t be sent using electronic media. This is where a HIPAA compliant VoIP system comes into play.
Based on this, they may rightfully ask: “Why is it important to be HIPAA compliant?” The fact is VoIP is no longer about calls only. VoIP providers have designed meticulous solutions for healthcare industry professionals. Nowadays, VoIP not only enables chat and phone calls between medical staff, but it also allows them to collaborate on a real-time basis, leave voicemails, record calls, etc.
This means a tremendous amount of information is being converted into electronic data. All this information is stored for more extended periods leaving many to question its security and confidentiality.
How Can VoIP Help You To Stay HIPAA Compliant?
Installing and maintaining a HIPAA compliant VoIP system is no easy task and may take some slight tweaking to perfect.
Below is a list of required features your HIPAA compliant VoIP provider should offer to protect your data privacy and accessibility:
1. Authentication – A third party over the line was a big problem in the ’80s and ’90s. Nowadays, call lines are more secure, but they still need extra security layers as they can even be tapped. Especially in terms of healthcare, it is crucial to keep communication safe from unauthorized persons. Therefore, you will need a person with office authentication and authenticated phones that provide unique user IDs.
2. Access Control– You may know that a VoIP system enables users to access personal data from anywhere. It is essential to categorize users to provide additional access privileges like passwords, data encryption, and a secure network.
3. Audit Control – All authenticated users’ activities must be recorded in case of future reference. However, only preselected users will have access to those records.
4. Encryption – This is to ensure the end-to-end encryption security of transmitted data. This is why choosing a reliable provider with powerful servers is essential. You’ll be able to secure your data from cyber-attacks. If you are not HIPAA compliant, you may face strict penalties of up to 1.5 million dollars, or in a worst-case scenario, exclusion from the medical industry. Therefore, data security should be your number one priority, not just a one-time certification. Ensure your data is safe and sound by choosing the best provider who will continuously think about your data security and monitor your network 24/7.