The Use of Technology and HIPAA Compliance 

You Need More than the Technology to Comply with HIPAA

With more medical professionals using personal mobile devices to communicate and collaborate on patient concerns, it is important that healthcare organizations address the use of technology and HIPAA compliance to eliminate the risk of electronically protected health information (ePHI) being compromised.

Secure messaging solutions provide healthcare organizations with the technology to comply with HIPAA regulations, but without policies in place to guide their employees on the correct use of the solution, it is more likely that a breach of ePHI will occur.

To help healthcare organizations address the risk of a breach, we have produced a free white paper – “Top 8 Secure Messaging Policy Best Practices” – which provides advice on how secure messaging policies should be constructed, how compliance with the policies should be monitored, and how the messaging policies can be integrated into existing organizational policies to ensure that staff easily understand and adhere to the policies.

Why are Policies for the Use of Technology and HIPAA Compliance Required?

There are two reasons that policies for the use of technology and HIPAA compliance are required – the first is because the HIPAA regulations demand it, and the second because employees should be provided with guidelines on when and how they should communicate ePHI and collaborate on patient concerns.

The actual legislation concerning policies for the use of technology and HIPAA compliance appears under the Organizational Requirements, which states “a covered entity must adopt reasonable and appropriate policies and procedures to comply with the provisions of the Security Rule”. The legislation also says that policies should be reviewed frequently to account for revised legislation, technological advances, and changes to working practices.

Guidelines for employee usage of the solution should define what constitutes ePHI, how it should be accessed or transmitted, and what an employee should do if their personal mobile device is lost, stolen or otherwise disposed of.

Speak with TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform – Standard about Secure Messaging Policy Best Practices

TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform – Standard is the market leader in supplying healthcare organizations with the technology to comply with HIPAA, and we invite you to speak with us if you have any questions about the use of technology and HIPAA compliance.

Our secure messaging solutions optimize staff communications and workflows but only resolve the issues of security and compliance when policies are in place to guide employees on the secure use of their mobile devices to access and transmit ePHI.

Please do not hesitate to download and read our “Top 8 Secure Messaging Policy Best Practices” or contact us with any questions you may have about technology to comply with HIPAA. We can also offer you a free demonstration of our secure messaging solution so that you can see TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform – Standard in action.