The short answer is HIPAA compliance is starting to catch up to the times when it comes to text messaging...sort of, depending on the day and who you ask.
By rule, most text messaging solutions are not technically HIPAA compliant because of a few key reasons that apply to ALL patient communication:
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- SMS is not encrypted end to end (Unless sending over iMessage but that is non-compliant in other ways)
- Can easily be intercepted over WiFi (Think, a message comes over from your doctor while you are working at a coffee shop)
- Messages cannot be recalled if sent to the wrong patient (If I send your info to another patient, I cannot take it back without an extravagant Oceans 11 type heist)
This rule has been relaxed during the pandemic so many providers have started using SMS as their primary method of communication out of mutual convenience between a patient and the medical practice. There are two issues that arise from this new method of patient communication:
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- Will the rules be enforced again any time soon?
Answer: We hope not since everyone likes it, but who knows 🤷
- What types of messages should we send over SMS?
Answer: This one is tricky, probably shouldn't get too personal here as this becomes more of a risk management issue than anything else. If something very personal goes to the wrong patient or was delivered to the correct patient but the data is comprised, you're still on the hook. Insurance policies have no obligation to waive your agreement when it comes to HIPAA compliance and at best can still cause a bureaucratic headache.
So how are you supposed to communicate with patients easily?
Patient chat allows for secure conversation between doctor and patient without any of the risks of SMS. ExamRoom Live does this through the multilingual patient portal. Patients receive email and/or text message notifications when they have a new secure message from a medical practice. Then, they use the passwordless login flow to retrieve it through the patient portal. The removes the friction of logging into a system you only intermittently use to see a message from your doctor. These messages check all the HIPAA compliant boxes so you can send the most sensitive data to your patients with confidence that only the intended people can view them.
Let's Review
SMS good unless bad. Patient chat good but more clicks than SMS. We recommend using these tools for different workflows:
When to use SMS:
When to use Patient Chat:
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- Medical questions
- Medical form sending/receiving
- Patient education related to a diagnosis
Whichever solution you choose, ExamRoom Live can help.