Communication Strategies & HIPPA
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What electronic communication strategies are used at your organization to communicate with patients? Based on your organization’s HIPAA policy, how is patient privacy and confidentiality protected?
Sample Solution
At my organization, electronic communication strategies are used to communicate with patients in a variety of ways. We use multiple platforms such as email, text messaging, and video conferencing for remote visits. In addition to this, we also have patient portals that allow our patients to access their medical records online.
The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) policy at my organization protects the confidentiality of patient information by mandating that all electronic communications must be encrypted or sent via secure networks when possible (Department of Health and Human Services). For example, emails sent between healthcare providers must be sent over secured servers in order to prevent any unauthorized access or interception of confidential information. Additionally, all computers used to send these types of messages must also follow the required protocols set forth in the HIPAA policy which includes having up-to-date firewalls installed on them (Department of Health and Human Services). The same rules apply for text messages sent over mobile devices – they must employ encryption technologies such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) before being transmitted so that any sensitive data is not compromised (Department of Health and Human Services). Finally, when using video conferencing for remote visits our organization requires two-way authentication measures so only authorized individuals can gain access. This is done through providing passwords as well as other identifying factors such as date/time stamps or IP addresses which helps verify if an individual has permission to view a certain session (Department of Health & Human Services).
