Texting and Devices in Healthcare - HIPAA Requirements Regarding Patient Communications

Price: $ + applicable taxes

Providers are finding that using mobile devices is far more flexible, convenient, and effective than paging or telephoning, and patients want to be able to use texting for handling of appointments, refills, updates, and the like, as even e-mail or the telephone has become too inconvenient.

This training will focus on the use of mobile devices in the healthcare setting. The use of mobile devices and texting is pervasive in society today and providers need to be prepared to make decisions when considering how to use mobile devices for various purposes, such as staff personal business use (e.g., "I'm running late in traffic due to the weather"), normal business use not involving any Protected Health Information (e.g., "The copier in the back hall needs new toner"), professional use involving PHI (e.g., "Patient Joe Jones is coming in for his follow-up at 10 AM, and his latest blood numbers are..."), and communications with patients for a wide varied reasons.

All of these uses must be considered, and the appropriate procedures followed. Different kinds of communication are subject to different rules- and compliance with HIPAA is a necessity.

This 90-minute training will dive into the latest HIPAA regulations regarding digital communication:

Learn the risks of using texting, what can go wrong, and what can result if standards are not upheld
Find out the steps that must be followed in the event of a breach of PHI
Discover how The Joint Commission decided to allow and then withdraw allowing the use of texting

Program Highlights

Know when secure communications are required and what must be done to ensure HIPAA standards

Understand the risks using mobile devices for patient/provider communications
Create a road map for how to use them safely, compliantly, and effectively
Prepare for the possibility of a security breach and know your course of action

Learn the enforcement activities, what is increasing in 2019, and how to survive a HIPAA audit

Navigate the types of information being shared and the appropriate procedure for each
Differentiate when to use encryption and when unencrypted communication is allowed
Identify the latest HIPAA requirements for covered entities to secure PHI

Maintain compliance heading into 2019 and ensure your facility doesn't land in hot water with HIPAA

Avoid huge fines and negative impacts on your facility's reputation
Mitigate the risks of legal issues and ensure protection for your patient's information
Know the latest procedure changes so you can start 2019 with the most up-to-date policy

Live Question & Answer Session - Have your questions answered by the expert!

About the Speaker

Jim Sheldon-Dean is the founder and director of compliance services at Lewis Creek Systems, LLC, a Vermon--based consulting firm founded in 1982, providing information privacy and security regulatory compliance services to a wide variety of health care entities. He is a frequent speaker regarding HIPAA, including speaking engagements at numerous regional and national healthcare association conferences and conventions and the annual NIST/OCR HIPAA Security Conference.

Sheldon-Dean has more than 18 years of experience specializing in HIPAA compliance, more than 36 years of experience in policy analysis and implementation, business process analysis, information systems and software development.
He has eight years of experience doing hands-on medical work as a Vermont certified volunteer emergency medical technician.
Sheldon-Dean received his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Vermont and his master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Program Benefits

This training will cover the information security compliance process, how it works, and how it can help you integrate mobile devices into your organization in a compliant manner. There have long been HIPAA requirements for covered entities to secure PHI and do their best to meet the requests of their patients for modes of communication, and using mobile devices is no exception. Adapting to these changes while maintaining compliance should be a top priority of any medical or healthcare facility.

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