Smartphones have become a vital healthcare tool; but unsecured text messaging does not meet HIPPA regulations, placing physicians at potentially serious legal and financial risk. That risk prompted the Cooperative of American Physicians to recommend that its members not use smartphones to text protected health information.
As we pointed out in our previous post, we feel CAP did its members a disservice. There are HIPAA-compliant secure messaging services that allow healthcare providers to take full advantage of smartphone capability without jeopardizing protected patient information or placing themselves in jeopardy. Today, we continue our rebuttal to CAP’s text messaging objections and demonstrate how using a professional, HIPAA-compliant call answering and secure messaging service can keep you on the right side of HIPAA regulations:
Problem: SMS formats limit messages to 160 characters which can lead to omission of critical information.
Solution: MedConnectUSA. Our miSecureMessage service imposes no character limits. Large amounts of information can be transferred safely and quickly.
Problem: SMS poses a greater risk of missed messages.
Solution: MedConnectUSA. When a message is received, our miSecureMessages app persistently alerts the recipient with customizable audio and visual alerts until the message is acknowledged.
Problem: SMS message receipt cannot be authenticated.
Solution: MedConnectUSA. Our secure message app provides a complete audit trail of all messages. Senders receive an alert when their message is received and again when the message is opened.
Problem: Data stored on your phone can be compromised if your phone is lost or stolen.
Solution: MedConnectUSA. Our secure message system stores message content on our secure servers, not your mobile device. The service can be disabled remotely, preventing unauthorized access if your phone is lost, stolen or replaced.
Visit our website for complete details about MedConnectUSA’s 100% HIPAA-compliant secure messaging services for healthcare professionals.