HIPAA compliant email for integrated care team communication

Integrated care teams are made up of healthcare professionals across differing disciplines and organizations. Communication methods and procedures can often conflict with limited opportunities for in-person meetings. Convenient means of communication like HIPAA compliant email is a requirement for the seamless operation of these teams. 

Understanding integrated care teams 

An International Journal of Integrated Care study provides, “Integrated care cannot be narrowly defined, but should be seen as an overarching term for a broad and multi-component set of ideas and principles that seek to better coordinate care around people’s needs.” 

Integrated care teams are following this line of thought as collaborative groups are typically used to provide care to patients with more complex cases. These teams provide tailored care that considers the patient's needs ranging from physical to mental health and in some cases social services. The benefit of this form of care is often found in its ability to reduce the duplication of care and help patients navigate an often complex healthcare system. 

Related: Using email in integrated medical settings 

Using HIPAA compliant email in integrated care teams

Asynchronous communication is a necessary part of collaborative communication. In integrated teams resources like email offer a valuable solution that keeps everyone informed and allows for responses without the need for real time meetings. Amongst such a dispersed team with different communication protocols, it is a happy medium that allows for updates and care plans to be shared while everything is documented for future reference. 

The best practices for the use of HIPAA compliant email 

• Sensitive protected health information (PHI) is constantly being shared between members of the care team. For this reason, the use of secure methods of communicating, like HIPAA compliant email platform Paubox, should be a priority for all members even those working in different organizations or even in different countries. 
• Create protocols for how email should be used specifying the content that can be shared and the structure for emails amongst members. These protocols should also cover the establishment of central contact figures who contact the patient. 
• Share checklists that provide the main team members who need to be included in email threads and how they should be included (i.e. CC, BCC, or central point of contact). 
• Maintain documentation that is constantly updated by the email thread amongst the care team. Should one of the providers make a change this should quickly be accounted for in written form with the email acting as a log of the decision. 

FAQs

Do community health workers have to be hipaa compliant? 

When community health workers handle PHI, they need to be HIPAA compliant. 

What is a covered entity? 

A healthcare provider, health plan, or healthcare clearinghouse that handles PHI. 

What is a business associate? 

A person or organization that performs services on behalf of covered entities and handles PHI.