Why You Need a HIPAA Compliant Medical Answering Service

As a hospital, medical office, or dental office, there is no question that you need a HIPAA-compliant medical answering service – both for the protection of your patient’s privacy and to protect your liability. So as you are searching for the right medical office answering service, ensure that they are HIPAA compliant and that they take the regulations seriously.

The Benefits of HIPAA Compliant Medical Answering Services

A medical office answering service that is HIPPA Compliant offers many benefits to its clients. As you know, any communication from your patients to your office (and vice versa) has to be in compliance with ALL of the guidelines of HIPAA. The two main benefits of your answering service being HIPAA compliant are that you will be protected legally and your patient’s privacy is protected.

You may be wondering why a medical answering service for doctors would have to distinguish itself as being HIPAA compliant. Most answering services are not HIPAA compliant because it is very difficult. Answering services generally communicate messages with their clients through email, text messages, recordings, or faxes – none of which are considered secure. And since we, as an answering service, are considered your “business associates” under the law, we are held to the same standards of compliance.

How Do We Communicate And Remain HIPAA Compliant?

We are a certified partner of a service called miSecure Messages which specializes in communications that are both HIPAA and HITECH Compliant. This allows us to protect your patients and your organization when you use miSecureMessages to send encrypted messages to AndroidTM, Apple® iPad®, iPhone®, iPod touch® and BlackBerry® mobile devices. It gives the ease of text messaging, but is considered secure and HIPAA compliant.

Your Communications Stay Private

Text messages are not encrypted, so they are not considered secure. The miSecure Message system encrypts all messages to keep your Protected Health Information (PHI) secure at all times. No messages are stored on any devices and you can require passwords.

Don’t Waste Time on Compliance

Many HIPAA-compliant messaging systems are slow and cumbersome. With miSecure Messages, messages are sent and received immediately. This can save up to two minutes per message which adds up when you consider the number of messages your staff sends and receives.

Don’t Waste Money on Compliance

Our system will work on your staffs’ current devices. No need to have special equipment for the “secure messages.” No need to purchase and carry clunky pagers. You can use your current smartphone and send unlimited characters in each message.

Simplify The Complex World of HIPAA Compliance

With our system, your staff can easily communicate with an easy-to-use app for their tablet or smartphone. There are many options for notification sounds (can be set to silent or vibrate when appropriate) and for how often users are notified about pending messages. And, miSecureMessages is available as either a cloud-based or on-site solution, allowing users to send messages from device to device, from the cloud, or directly from your call center. miSecureMessages uses both WiFi and 3G/4G technology to ensure messages are sent and received from virtually anywhere.

Try Our Service Risk Free

If you know that you need an answering service, but were hesitant because of HIPAA Compliance issues, we would love to talk to you. You can try our services risk-free and let us prove that we offer excellent service and will keep your PHI secure. Give one of our friendly and professional operators a call today at 888.528.5678 and we will help you get set up!