The vision for this blog is to create a community of harmonious professionals across the care continuum who encourage each other in exploring digital media as a way to support businesses and families dealing with elder care.
Written on June 9th, 2010 by tasha
I loathe phone tag. Don’t you? And while email is not ideal for everything, you can’t argue with the convenience of sending a non-urgent question when you have the time, and the respondent answering when they have the time. In the Web world, this is called “asynchronous communication” and it has improved access to resources and revolutionized many businesses.
Despite initial reservations, studies of provider/patient email have shown that both parties benefit. Patients are not nearly as demanding as providers fear, and providers get information that can save the need for a physical visit (often saving on expenses, thereby improving the bottom line). In clinical trials within the same practice, patients who used online communications expressed greater satisfaction with their health providers and rated the practice at higher levels than patients who only had telephone phone access. It’s not surprising, therefore, that large companies, such as Kaiser-Permanente, are adopting secure communications systems and making them a regular part of their health care delivery.
Email is handy, but can it be made HIPAA-complaint? Email in and of itself cannot. But web applications that take advantage of the simplicity of blog-like software, can allow for online communications that behave like email, but offer HIPAA-protection. This facilitates communication, not only with families, but also with other providers across the care continuum. Technology in the service of collaboration. I LOVE it! (For those who don’t know, the original name of “Elder Pages Online” was “Let’s Collaborate!”)
How can companies with small budgets engage in secure communications? There are services, now, that are set up specifically to offer HIPAA-compliant, online exchange of information. These services make the investment in necessary software and hardware protections. By renting time or space on their equipment, you pay only a fraction of the cost it would take to set something up yourself.
To be HIPAA compliant, online communication services will, among other things:
Imagine when the telephone was first invented, all of the new issues that came to the fore! Providers had to get receptionists, answering services, then eventually pagers and cell phones. Today, we can’t fathom elder care without the telephone. I believe we are at just such a juncture now, but the paradigm shift is to digital communications. Ten years from now, HIPAA-protected email will be common-place; we just aren’t there yet.
In up-coming posts I will be talking about innovative communication services that are using new technologies on secure servers to help providers and consumers reap the benefits of HIPAA-compliant online communication.
Many thanks to John and the engineers at my hosting company, INetU Managed Hosting, for their assistance in preparing this article.
Any tips to share about HIPAA and online communications?
