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ChineseData protection is a very sensitive issue, especially since the internet age. Medical data protection is even more sensitive and, since 1996, it is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) all over the United States. This law regulates communications between healthcare professionals and patients. In this article, we will detail the HIPAA rules for emails and texts sent by a chiropractic practice to patients.
Are Chiropractors Bound to Comply with HPAA Rules?
As stated above, all healthcare professionals, institutions and staff are obliged to comply with the HIPAA rules. This includes:
• Chiropractors
• Receptionists at chiropractic practice desks
• Nurses, assistants and other chiropractic clinic employees.
In short, you and your staff at your chiropractic practice must comply with this medical data protection law.
What Are the Penalties of Breaching HIPAA Rules for Emails?
Any HIPAA violation is treated very seriously by the authorities. They will take severe action against breaches, and determine the penalties based on:
• The nature of the violation
• Whether the breach was accidental or willful and malicious
• Whether you took action to correct it internally
• How much harm it caused
• How many patients were affected by the breach
• Whether the breach violated the HIPAA criminal provisions.
Thus, you and your chiropractic practice may face either civil or criminal penalties. Civil penalties range between $100 per violation per person who breached the rules and $25,000. Criminal penalties range between $50,000 and $250,000 and jail time, most likely.
How to Comply with HIPAA Rules for Emails and Texts
The penalties above can be crippling even for the most successful practice. Also, your professional reputation will be forever tainted. The best policy is to stay on the right side of the law all the time and comply with the HIPAA rules for emails and texts containing any kind of health information.
HIPAA Rules for Texts
Short message texts (SMS) are very convenient and quick. Many patients will tell you: “don’t bother with an email, just text me about my progress report”. Before you agree to do so, to comply with HIPAA rules, you must inform the patient of the risks of having personal health information stored on their mobile phone.
Also, your practice must meet the minimum necessary standards for disclosure set by HIPAA. Finally, you must implement the technical safeguards that ensure data privacy. These safeguards include:
• Access to personal health data is limited to users who need it to perform their job roles
• A monitoring system for personal health data to view the activity of authorized users, with clear identification of each user
• Authorized users must comply with the policies concerning altering and destroying personal health data
• Data sent outside the internal firewall must be encrypted.
HIPAA Rules for Emails
Emailing patients is not always a convenient idea, but it is also mandated by the Privacy Rule (Code of Federal Regulations Title 45 164.522) which states that healthcare providers must offer patients an alternative means of communication. The greatest majority of patients will choose email.
However, even if your patients give you their express permission, you cannot send personal health data by email without encryption. This is one of the main HIPAA rules for emails. The other requirements involve:
• Access controls
• Audit controls
• Integrity controls
• Transmission security
• User ID authentication.
Also, you must warn patients of the risks of sending personal health data by email before you receive the first communication of this kind from them.
Digital Patient Chart Chiropractic Software Is HIPAA Compliant
All these HIPAA rules for emails and texts are complex and would require a significant investment in cybersecurity and other technical safeguards. The alternative is using Digital Patient Chart – a complete software suite created together with chiropractors.
The suite offers you complete practice management tools, including online appointments, billing and financial analysis tools, and a secure, HIPAA-compliant emailing platform.
Comply with HIPAA rules for emails and communicate with your patients efficiently using the Digital Patient Chart chiropractic suite! Reach out to us to schedule a demo and learn more about its capabilities and benefits for your practice!
