Covered entities must use HIPAA compliant emails to cut costs on data breaches, litigations, and administrative efforts. It also improves operational efficiency and supports telehealth, making it an affordable and efficient solution.
Covered entities, including healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, and their business associates, must use HIPAA compliant emails. These emails offer advanced security measures, like encryption and access controls, safeguarding protected health information (PHI) during transit and at rest.
The average cost of a data breach in the healthcare sector can run into millions when factoring in legal fees, regulatory fines, and reputation damages. These consequences have financially devastated many organizations.
HIPAA compliant email solutions, like Paubox, use encryption to encode emails and their attachments, making it impossible for PHI to fall into the wrong hands. It minimizes the chances of a breach, helping covered entities avoid spending thousands on recovery and non-compliance fines.
Covered entities that use HIPAA compliant emails are less exposed to legal risks like class action lawsuits they present. Demonstrating proactive compliance also provides a defense if legal disputes arise. Covered entities can prove they tried to prevent the data breach, reducing potential litigation costs and improving the organization's long-term viability.
Traditional forms of communication, like telephone calls, often lead to delays and miscommunications. Instead, entities should use HIPAA compliant emails for instant, secure messages. Consequently, this frees up more time for providers to focus on patient care.
Migrating to a HIPAA compliant solution, like Paubox, digitalizes correspondence so organizations save on printing, postage, and storage. Less paperwork will automatically translate into less money and time spent processing and handling documents, eventually reducing administrative burdens.
More patients are opting for virtual consultations, and healthcare providers, like therapists, now offer virtual services. Telehealth solutions used in conjunction with HIPAA compliant email can reduce the costs associated with in-person visits, like money spent on traveling or renting an office space.
Healthcare organizations can also use HIPAA compliant emails to expedite appointment scheduling, follow-up reminders, and answers to patient queries. These secure emails are proven to increase patient engagement and satisfaction. In turn, this results in higher treatment adherence, preventing more expensive interventions.
Read also: Improve patient engagement with HIPAA compliant text messages
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets national standards for protecting the privacy and security of certain health information, known as protected health information (PHI).
HIPAA is designed to protect the privacy and security of individuals’ health information and to ensure that healthcare providers and insurers can securely exchange electronic health information.
Encryption converts the content of the email into a form that is only accessible to the authorized recipient and not to any other person or system. It prevents unauthorized access, upholding HIPAA regulations.
Yes, a provider must get explicit patient consent before sharing their PHI through HIPAA compliant emails.
Learn more: A HIPAA consent form template that's easy to share