3 Ways to Achieve HIPAA-Compliant Communication for Behavioral Health

The following is a guest article by Ram Krishnan, CEO at Valant Communicating with patients – in a compliant manner – is essential for behavioral health practices. All practices must comply with HIPAA, as well as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). To protect patient privacy and respect patient communication preferences, these laws require certain guidelines to be followed. A few examples are obtaining permission to share information with third parties, having patients “opt-in” to communications, and putting the right data security measures in place. Technology plays a crucial role in HIPAA-compliant communication for behavioral health. 1. Embracing Secure EHR Software and Patient Portal Effective EHR software helps ensure HIPAA-compliant interactions. Practices should ensure that their EHR has a fully integrated patient portal that will allow patients to manage their care in a secure and HIPAA-compliant way. This includes viewing and paying bills, managing appointments, and signing forms electronically. Mobile app functionality is another thing to consider, as many patients prefer to use mobile devices for these types of tasks. Many practices rely on email for communication but this presents substantial risks to HIPAA compliance. First, email addresses are often mistyped, which can result in dangerous disclosures of protected health information (PHI). Even if they reach their intended recipient, emails are often overlooked or misdirected to spam folders, an...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Communication and Patient Experience EMR-EHR Health IT Company Healthcare IT behavioral health HIPAA compliant mental health Patient Communication Patient Portal PHI Protected Health Information Ram Krishnan Secure Patient Messagin Source Type: blogs