HIPAA compliant emails can facilitate care coordination to enhance patient care, improve patient and provider satisfaction, and reduce overall healthcare costs.
What is care coordination?
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states, “Care coordination involves deliberately organizing patient care activities and sharing information among all of the participants concerned with a patient's care to achieve safer and more effective care.”
Additionally, the main goal is “to meet patients' needs and preferences in the delivery of high-quality, high-value health care, [where] the patient's needs and preferences are known and communicated at the right time to the right people, and that this information is used to guide the delivery of safe, appropriate, and effective care.”
Benefits of care coordination
According to Relias, “Coordination of care can have many benefits for patients, providers, and the health care system, including:
- Better patient outcomes
- Improved patient satisfaction
- Increased provider satisfaction
- Reduced health care costs”
Care coordination with HIPAA compliant emails
Better patient outcomes
Providers can use HIPAA compliant emails to ensure that patients receive comprehensive and continuous care, which is particularly important for those with chronic conditions or complex medical needs.
Relias states that care coordination can “help the care team prevent and manage complications, comorbidities, and chronic conditions, as well as improve patient adherence, self-management, and quality of life.”
Additionally, HIPAA compliant emails improve patient outcomes through:
Timely interventions: HIPAA compliant emails share information quickly and securely, preventing unauthorized breaches.
Reduced errors: Providers can use HIPAA compliant emails to share up-to-date patient information, minimizing the risk of medical errors, like incorrect diagnoses or medication mistakes.
Holistic care: Coordinated care plans address all aspects of a patient's health, leading to better management of chronic diseases and overall improved health outcomes. So, providers can use HIPAA compliant emails to exchange care plans and patient information.
Improved patient satisfaction
HIPAA compliant emails can enhance patient satisfaction through care coordination by:
Clear communication: For example, providers can use HIPAA compliant emails to share detailed information, appointment reminders, and educational materials with patients. Relias explains that “providers can help patients understand their condition, treatment options, and care plan involve them in shared decision-making and goal-setting.”
Consistency: HIPAA compliant emails allow patients to receive consistent messages and treatment recommendations from all their healthcare providers.
Accessibility: Secure emails facilitate prompt communication between providers and patients. Providers can quickly share information and make referrals, reducing barriers to accessing healthcare.
Increased provider satisfaction
HIPAA compliant emails can enhance care coordination by contributing to a better work environment and quality of care. More specifically, Relias explains that care coordination can “Help providers communicate and collaborate more effectively with their colleagues and patients and streamline their workflows and documentation.”
Reduced healthcare costs
According to Relias, effective care coordination can “help reduce health care costs by eliminating unnecessary, duplicated, or low-value services, as well as preventing or reducing hospitalizations, readmissions, ED visits, and complications.”
So, providers can use HIPAA compliant emails for better care coordination in post-discharge care, reducing the likelihood of costly hospital readmissions. More specifically, it allows better chronic disease management through continuous monitoring and timely adjustments in care plans, leading to lower healthcare costs.
FAQs
What are HIPAA compliant emails?
HIPAA compliant emailing platforms, like Paubox, use encryption and other security measures, like access controls, to safeguard patients’ protected health information (PHI) from data breaches.
How do HIPAA compliant emails facilitate care coordination?
Providers can use HIPAA compliant emails for secure, timely, and efficient communication, ensuring patient information is shared quickly and safely, improving care coordination.
Can HIPAA compliant emails improve patient satisfaction?
Yes, providers can use HIPAA compliant emails to keep patients informed, improving their overall satisfaction with care.
Read also: How automated HIPAA compliant emails can increase patient satisfaction
