Close
  • About
  • IT Solutions
  • Industries
  • Cybersecurity
  • Resources
  • News
  • Careers
  • Refer Us
  • Payment Portal
  • Home
Get Support
Linkedin
Facebook-square
Twitter

ECS + MyIT Logo
  • About
  • IT Solutions
      Outsourced IT icon

      Outsourced IT

      Hybrid IT icon

      Hybrid/Co-IT

      Phones icon

      VOIP Phones

      Cloud icon

      Cloud & Network Equipment

      Consulting & Strategy

      Audits & Assessments

  • Industries
      heartbeat icon

      Compliance

      Auto dealership icon

      Auto Dealerships

      Professional IT Services hand icon

      Professional Services

      SMBs icon

      Small Businesses

      Government building icon

      Government

      Education icon

      Education

      Construction icon

      Construction

      Non-Profit organization icon

      Non-Profit

  • Cybersecurity
  • Resources
Contact Us
ECS + MyIT Logo
  • About
  • IT Solutions
      Outsourced IT icon

      Outsourced IT

      Hybrid IT icon

      Hybrid/Co-IT

      Phones icon

      VOIP Phones

      Cloud icon

      Cloud & Network Equipment

      Consulting & Strategy

      Audits & Assessments

  • Industries
      heartbeat icon

      Compliance

      Auto dealership icon

      Auto Dealerships

      Professional IT Services hand icon

      Professional Services

      SMBs icon

      Small Businesses

      Government building icon

      Government

      Education icon

      Education

      Construction icon

      Construction

      Non-Profit organization icon

      Non-Profit

  • Cybersecurity
  • Resources
Contact Us
IT Compliance

Can I Text ePHI?

By Guest Post 

We get this question from our healthcare clients frequently – can I text ePHI (Electronic Private Health Information)?

Simply put, no.

This may surprise you, because many non-medical companies frequently exchange texts with clients. (You probably know dozens of doctors that frequently text patients too.) HIPAA does not allow for texting any private information, even directly to the patient.

Also, the Joint Commission has varied in their opinion of the legality of texting medical orders too. In 2011, they banned secure-texted medical orders. In May 2016, that opinion was reversed, only to be reinstated in December that same year. [Read more at Advisory.com]

Why can’t a doctor text a patient?

A doctor can’t text a patient because the doctor can not verify the environment that patient’s phone is in.

For example, a patient may be having lunch with a friend and her phone is sitting on the table. The patient may not want a text from her doctor stating that her pregnancy test was positive. Most phones show a preview of the text message in the lock screen, showing the content of the message to everyone in sight of the phone. For this reason, text messaging is not a confidential method of communication.

How can you text a patient securely then?

Some medical practices will require patients to sign a waiver thus allowing them to transmit ePHI via text. This waiver may hold up in court, but it isn’t the best practice. Instead, you can send a text with a link to the message (much like sending a secure/encrypted email).

How big of a deal is non-HIPAA compliant messaging?

According to an Infinite Convergence Solutions study, 92% of healthcare institutions use a non-HIPAA compliant messaging app. Additionally, the study found that only 25% of medical institutions use an internal, company-authorized app. 52% of respondents reported using a third-party messaging app such as GChat, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.

65% of healthcare respondents use email most frequently to communicate with patients, followed by 22% using mobile messaging and 13% use voice calling.

Most participants cited not using mobile messaging because they prefer to send emails or make calls. Some cited a lack of a paper trail with mobile messaging, a lack of security, the process being too informal, or the method not being authorized by the company.

Additional source: https://www.healthitoutcomes.com/doc/healthcare-institutions-employ-compliant-messaging-apps-0001

 


Healthcare ITHIPAA

Related Articles


IT Compliance
Debunking 13 HIPAA Technology Myths
IT Compliance
Are Your Business Associates HIPAA Complaint or a Risk?
Industry-Specific Technologies
3 Biggest Cybersecurity Mistakes Medical Practices Make

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

Pros & Cons of BYOD
Previous Article
Empowering A/E/C’s Mobile Workforce
Next Article
  • Categories

    • Blog
    • Business & Technology
    • Cloud Technology
    • Cybersecurity
    • DR & Data Protection
    • Industry-Specific Technologies
    • IT Compliance
    • News and Events


Explore

About Us
IT Solutions
Industries
Get Help
Contact

Disclaimer

Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Master Client Agreement

Locations

New Orleans
6620 Riverside Drive, Suite 200
Metairie, LA 70003
504-888-6948

Shreveport
347 W. Bert Kouns Industrial Loop
Shreveport, LA 71106
318-219-3427

ECS + MyIT Logo
Linkedin
Facebook-square
Twitter
© 2020 My IT. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • IT Solutions
    ▼
    • Outsourced IT
    • Hybrid/Co-IT
    • VOIP Phones
    • Cloud & Network Equipment
  • Industries
    ▼
    • Compliance
    • Auto Dealerships
    • Professional Services
    • Small Businesses
    • Government
    • Education
    • Construction
    • Non-Profit
  • Cybersecurity
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Get Support
  • News
  • Careers
  • Payment Portal