Mental health professionals must use HIPAA compliant emails to give patients accessible mental health support that ensures legal compliance, advanced security, and improved patient trust.
Legal compliance
Many providers, including mental health professionals, prefer HIPAA compliant emails because they adhere to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations.
Specifically, these emails use encryption, access controls, and authentication measures, safeguarding protected health information (PHI). Mental health professionals can also use audit trails to track who has accessed PHI, ensuring accountability within their organization.
Platforms like BetterHelp, although reputable, are not HIPAA compliant as evidenced by their Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint.
According to the complaint, BetterHelp shared or sold email addresses, intake questionnaire data, and IP addresses to third parties such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Pinterest between 2013 and 2020.
"The FTC complaint is a timely example of the risks associated with these companies and lends itself well to an examination of ethical considerations for therapists considering use of such services,” explains Commentary by Indiana University-Bloomington.
So, mental health professionals must choose a HIPAA compliant platform like Paubox to protect patient privacy and uphold ethical standards.
Patient trust
Patients are more likely to trust providers who protect their personal information.
HIPAA compliant emails uphold the ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect for patient privacy, helping mental health professionals earn the trust and respect of their patients.
On the other hand, Healthline’s 2022 online therapy survey reported that 27% of BetterHelp users “didn’t trust or feel comfortable with their [matched] therapist.”
Furthermore, the more recent FTC findings against BetterHelp, including their misrepresentation of HIPAA compliance and privacy breaches, could add to this mistrust.
Accessibility
Mental health professionals can send HIPAA compliant emails directly to patient inboxes without either navigating complex portals or remembering additional logins. It also allows quicker responses to patient questions, streamlining patient-provider communication.
BetterHelp, however, requires patients to create an account and log in to access messages from their therapist, which could affect timely communication, especially in urgent situations.
A respondent in the survey also notes that BetterHelp's onboarding process took her about 20 minutes, stating, “I messed up one question, and when I navigated back to change it, the interface instead took me to the beginning of the quiz, and I had to restart.”
Ultimately, these extra steps are inconvenient and could deter patients who need mental health support.
Read also: Why HIPAA compliant emails have the edge over patient portals
FAQs
Does HIPAA apply to mental health information?
HIPAA sets standards for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information (PHI), including mental health records.
Can providers use regular emails for patient communication?
No, regular email services, like Gmail and Outlook, are not secure. Instead, providers must use a HIPAA compliant emailing platform, like Paubox, to safeguard patients' protected health information (PHI).
Do HIPAA compliant emails require special training for users?
No, emailing platforms, like Paubox, operate within existing email infrastructures like Gmail, making them intuitive and familiar for users.
