HIPAA Secure Texting

Secure Messaging Trends: HIPAA Compliance, Patient Satisfaction & Communication

January 13, 2016 | Uniphy Health

Demand for mHealth tools that extend patient portals onto patients’ smartphones and enable patients to communicate with clinical care teams is rising significantly. We’ve highlighted the results of three recent surveys that demonstrate healthcare organizations’ need for mobile technologies that promote patient privacy and engagement:

 

privacy-analytics-logo1. Privacy Analytics polled nearly 300 professionals who are responsible for privacy and compliance in their healthcare organization. They found that 3 in 4 of those surveyed rely on data sharing approaches that don’t adhere to globally accepted data sharing guidelines. These organizations were deemed as being at high risk of facing threats to patient data privacy.

Source: Healthcare Informatics

 
AJMC logo2. Patients are already reaping the benefits of electronic communication with physicians. In a recent survey, 1 in 3 patients agreed that electronically messaging their provider improved their health and led to less office phone calls and visits. 71% of patients also indicated that they trust the security of their patient portal’s secure direct messaging.

Source: Clinical Innovation

 

566888d58a64f.image3. Physicians and hospital leaders from a large hospital system in NJ reflect on how a HIPAA secure texting and mobile communication tool enabled staff members to improve satisfaction of inpatients. Overhead pages dropped from 150 to 3 a day, and HCAHPS scores improved markedly.

Source: Press of Atlantic City

 

To achieve quality care goals, healthcare organizations need mHealth tools that mend the communication barriers of patients with physicians, and physicians with other physicians and clinicians. Early adopters of HIPAA secure mobile communications technologies are already experiencing savings due to improvements in care coordination and patient satisfaction. Slowly but surely, healthcare organizations are adopting rigorous PHI data protection procedures and investing in HIPAA secure mobile technologies that enable patients to remotely access PHI and communicate with physicians. In this way, these organizations are improving patient health outcomes and satisfaction levels.

 

Continued Reading

To further enrich your understanding, consider reading this article that outlines technical safeguards mHealth apps designed for HIPAA compliance should adhere to. This extended blog series details the functions and features that mHealth apps should offer to effectively support patient engagement.