Is Your Answering Service HIPAA Compliant?
From podiatrists to chiropractic offices, HIPAA compliance is a vital and necessary part of any medical office. HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that was passed by Congress in 1996. Among other things, the act requires the protection and confidential handling of protected health information. Today, as technology continues to advance, it is more important than ever to ensure that your partners are compliant in safeguarding protected patient health information (PHI).
Your Answering Service is Vital
Having a professional answering service to handle things like overflow and after-hours calls is essential for providing excellent customer service. It is also critical in capturing potential business that could be lost when you do not answer. Having skilled professionals is not enough, however. In the medical field, your service providers must also be HIPAA compliant for you to remain HIPAA compliant.
Evaluating Your Risks
As a medical practice, you must consider HIPAA compliance wherever your data goes. Risks for data exposure exist wherever partners are handling PHI. Under the Privacy Rule, all information that can be used to individually identify someone is protected. This includes name, age, date of birth, condition, billing and insurance information, and many other identifiers.
Your Answering Service Needs to Stay Compliant, Too
When choosing an answering service for your medical practice, it is important to choose one that is HIPAA compliant and is vigilant about staying ahead of technology and the risks associated with them. Choose a partner with a proven record of investing in HIPAA compliance, adaptive technologies, advanced systems, and continued training. Remember, not every telephone answering service is HIPAA compliant.
Midwest Answer has taken the steps required by HIPAA for compliance so that you never put your patients of their data at risk.
