Many people, including patients, prefer texting because it is fast, simple, and convenient.
SMS is very effective in medical practice, such as scheduling, continuous care, etc. You should text, but you must ensure that you comply with HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act when you do so.This is especially true when sending text messages about patient care that may contain personal health information (PHI)
By implementing these five best practices, providers can satisfy patients who desire convenient care while complying with HIPAA.
But before we enter the list below, let us address the biggest potential HIPAA violation that providers can cause when texting patients: never text them from personal devices that are not bound by a HIPAA-compliant system. Data sent directly from personal devices can easily be intercepted by the wrong eyes. If you want to text with patients, it is best to serve you by implementing a full-practice text messaging software solution (described in detail in step 4).
- Build a list of authorized employees who can access patient conversations.
You need to determine who has access control—especially who should and who should not view patient conversations.
Ideally, authorized employees include healthcare practitioners, as well as office administrators and front desk staff who are responsible for arranging and communicating with patients. Personnel in the billing and collection department do not necessarily need to see the conversation between the patient and the nurse. Therefore, it is important to determine which of your employees should actually have access to patient conversations and who should send or manage these conversations on a daily basis.
Each department should have its own dashboard to communicate with patients. In the SMS platform that complies with HIPAA standards, doctors’ clinics and hospitals can assign their own dashboards to all authorized users to separate conversations.
The most important thing is to make sure that the patient knows who they are communicating with, and that the manager or administrator can know who said what to whom and when. You also need to make sure that the message is encrypted and secure-but we will cover it in detail later.
- Make sure that the patient chooses to receive text messages.
The patient wants to text with the provider and therefore needs to create a “written record” of opt-in. Texting without their consent may become a liability and violate HIPAA standards.
The easiest way to ensure that patients opt-in is to ask for their consent when they fill out documents in your office. The question can be: “Do you want to receive updates via SMS?”
Or, by implementing online SMS chat on your website, patients can be encouraged to send SMS to providers themselves. This way, patients can contact you on your website about any questions they may have. SMS Chat increases the opportunities for patients to contact and make appointments, which of course will increase the provider’s revenue.
Patients need to choose to receive text messages, but it is also recommended that providers obtain explicit permission from patients to share PHI before sending text messages about their care to patients.
Request proof of identity before sending and receiving text messages.
It is important to ensure that the text is sent to the correct patient. Therefore, providers need to confirm their identity by asking for simple credentials (such as their date of birth).
Keep contact information up to date by requiring patients to update their paperwork when they enter the office in person. If the provider has not seen the patient for a while, this is also a good excuse to re-engage them through text. You can contact to confirm their name or address, or see if they want to arrange a next visit.
- Implement a secure encrypted text messaging platform.
HIPAA’s regulations on SMS are all about security and encryption. Providers need to ensure that messages are permanently recorded, searchable, and encrypted. In other words, make sure you keep patient records and other parties cannot access them.
Personal smartphones will not cut it. An additional layer of security is needed to provide maximum protection-these security layers can only be obtained through a secure SMS platform that meets the HIPAA standard. Once the system-wide platform is implemented, suppliers can use their own devices to send text messages to patients, as long as they use an encrypted platform.
Falsified or corrupted messages may put PHI and your practices at risk. Patient information is sacred and should always be treated accordingly. This can be ensured by an encrypted text messaging platform and avoid the risk of data leakage.
- Use text messages as a way to send suggestions and professional tips.
Through text messages, providers can interact with patients outside of the appointment. This shows that the care team really cares about the health of the patient, even if they do not make an appointment immediately. This also helps build patient loyalty for the provider community.
In fact, the opening rate of text is 99%, while only 5% of calls are answered and 15% of e-mails are opened.
It is cheaper to keep patients coming back than trying to find new patients. A 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by 25%-95%, while the cost of acquiring new customers is 5-25 times higher.
Allow patients to choose to join the text subscriber list so that they can receive your professional tips. At the end of their appointment, the provider can send them a link to the comment page and an option to join your subscriber list. You can also tell them verbally and then let them subscribe.
“Hey, [Patient]! Do you mind leaving us a comment? [Link] If you want to receive our SMS about daily care, please reply the CARE SMS to this number! “
Send patients such things as infographics to remind them of the importance of care-it depends on the expertise of each practice public relations team. A small push like this can greatly help the provider’s practice. As long as providers maintain HIPAA compliance, they can easily text patients and see all the benefits it brings—including stronger patient loyalty, more revenue, and more referrals.
Photo: shapecharge, Getty Images
