HIPAA Compliance and Answering Services

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) plays a major role in healthcare operations. Physicians and administrative staff have to remain mindful of the ways they share information with patients to protect sensitive information. While HIPAA is crucial for protecting patients, it can also be a hurdle for a key aspect of healthcare — answering the phones.

Medical providers field phone calls all day long, and these calls are often related to highly sensitive information. To overcome this challenge, healthcare offices turn to answering services. Partnering with a call answering service provider might be simple for some industries, but the medical sector requires a more tailored solution with HIPAA compliance at the forefront.

Challenges in Healthcare Communication

Communication is an essential part of healthcare, but it comes with challenges related to HIPAA. HIPAA is designed to keep patients’ sensitive medical information private, which adds a layer of complication to the communication process. Healthcare providers must be mindful of how they deliver information to patients, especially over the phone.

One example of applying HIPAA to healthcare communication is sharing test results. If a provider calls a patient to deliver these results, and the patient doesn’t pick up, these results should not be delivered over a voicemail message. This prevents others from listening to the message and obtaining private information. Another example of HIPAA compliance is confirming patient identity with full name and birthdate before reviewing medical information. 

While many providers will have practices in place to align with HIPAA requirements, it can be tricky to keep patients informed while aligning with these policies. Remaining compliant via phone communications can be especially difficult when providers are taking calls constantly throughout the day. Unknowingly violating HIPAA can result in fines as high as $50,000, making compliance a high priority for every practice.

The Role of Answering Services in Healthcare

A missed call means an untreated patient, so many healthcare providers will turn to answering services. With a professional call answering agent, healthcare offices can more effectively manage high call volumes. The right service will also offer flexibility based on your practice’s needs. 

For example, call answering agents can support you after hours to ensure messages are taken and emergencies are directed to the right people. They can act as overflow, or handle your calls full-time. Ultimately, this increased availability over the phone means better patient support. 

Services included with your call answering solution will depend on who you partner with. They might include:

• Scheduling appointments: Taking appointments plays a large role in call answering at a medical practice. With HIPAA-compliant appointment scheduling services, agents can set these appointments with access to providers’ calendars to ensure patients visit their physicians when they need to.
• Taking messages: During after-hours calls, patients may have questions for their providers. Call agents can record these questions for providers to access during office hours, allowing them to call patients back and keep them informed about their care.
• Call routing: In some cases, a patient might call with a specific need that only one department can answer. For example, a question related to a recent charge needs to be transferred to billing. Call agents can make sure patients are directed to the right person for their needs.
• Handling patient inquiries: The right call answering service allows your team to create custom scripts for different scenarios to ensure call agents can handle different types of inquiries. For example, a surgical center might get a lot of questions about how to prepare for surgery. With scripts, a call agent can answer this question accurately without having to route the call to a surgeon. 

Ensuring HIPAA-Compliant Call Answering Services

Given the benefits of a call answering service, your practice might be interested in partnering with a trusted provider. Before you take the next step, it’s important to ensure your call answering service aligns with HIPAA requirements. You should ask about:

• Security measures: A call answering service should have well-defined security measures regarding the transmission and storage of patient information. For example, if your call answering provider uses technology to store messages and appointments, it needs to have data encryption and other secure technologies to safeguard the data.
• Agent training: Call agents need to have a strong awareness of HIPAA practices to keep patient information private. Undergoing HIPAA training can be a helpful first step. You might also ask how call agents will handle scenarios, like providing test results over the phone.
• Policies: Privacy policies and procedures will play a role in your HIPAA compliance when working with a call answering service. Ask your provider about how information is handled on the backend and what happens to the data when a patient no longer uses services. Call answering providers should also be willing to provide this information for auditing purposes.

Benefits of a HIPAA-Compliant Virtual Receptionist

Working with a HIPAA-compliant virtual receptionist can be an excellent way to manage high call volumes while addressing patient needs. With this solution, you can:

• Streamline communications: It’s common for healthcare professionals to manage multiple responsibilities in a single role, and some tasks can become inefficient as a result, including phone communications. A call answering agent can make these communications more direct and streamlined. As a result, patients get the attention they need, the moment they need it. 
• Reduce administrative burden: If your staff constantly takes phone calls throughout the day, they need support. With a call answering service, you can reduce the administrative burden on your team and give them space to complete essential tasks, like managing patient records and overseeing billing. 
• Build patient trust: Patients want a healthcare provider they can trust, and data privacy plays a role in building that trust. A HIPAA-compliant call agent keeps your office professional, efficient and secure, so patients know they’re in good hands the minute they call.

Stay HIPAA-Compliant With AnswerHero™

AnswerHero™ is a fully bilingual answering service that helps medical offices manage their high call volumes and cut down on administrative strain. Our call agents are expertly trained to handle every call efficiently and professionally while remaining HIPAA compliant. We provide our services 24/7 to support your organization when you need us most. With flexible, contract-free pricing plans, it’s easy to choose a level of service that works for your call volume — even as it changes. 

Our agents provide a range of services, including appointment setting, message taking and call routing. With our user-friendly web portal, your team has direct access to all messages and appointments our agents handle. 

When your call volume is more than you can manage, you need a HIPAA-compliant solution that ensures you answer every call, every time. Get in touch with AnswerHero™ today.