29 Apr Do Text Messages Void a North Carolina Answering Service’s HIPAA Compliance?
Today’s medical community works at the speed of light, often making quick decisions that can ultimately have an impact on those they’re trying to care for. As a result, communication needs to be lightning fast in the medical field and this is one reason why so many health care providers rely on text messaging to deliver short, but important pieces of information to one another and their patients.
This is especially the case among providers of in-home health care services, such as those agencies that provide live-in nurses and home health aides. But, is a medical answering service that delivers medically-related text messages within HIPPA’s compliance guidelines or are these organizations putting their patient data at risk?
How HIPAA Applies to Medical Text Messages
The Challenges of HIPAA Compliance and Text Messages
Medical providers face several key challenges when it comes to ensuring HIPAA compliance with their text messaging. For starters, most cellular service providers don’t even offer HIPAA Business Associate Agreements. Add to that the fact that even if a network is HIPAA compliant, a text message needs to travel through a variety of non-compliant networks before it reaches its final destination, thus exposing it to a variety of potential risks. Lastly, it is impossible to guarantee the security of any text message. In today’s world, any text can be read or archived by the cellular provider or intercepted by the government for anti-terrorism purposes.
Are There Other Alternatives For Fast HIPAA-Compliant Communication?
Another, more reliable solution is to use a HIPAA-compliant North Carolina answering service that offers secure email with push abilities. This ensures that all medically-related email messages are delivered instantly between any two devices and along highly secure, fully-compliant networks.
Ensure Your Compliance – Try CallNET’s North Carolina Answering Service Today
At CallNET, we only use the latest in answering service technology. And, we provide ongoing HIPAA training for all of our operators serving our clients in the medical field. This dedication to quality and commitment to compliance enables us to deliver the most dependable, trusted, and professional medical answering services in the market.
To learn more about CallNET’s exclusive “best rate guarantee” or to start a free trial of our award-winning North Carolina answering services, call us today at 1-800-395-2612.
Our Medical Answering Services
Learn more about our medical answering services for doctors, dentists, orthodontists and other medical professionals.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.