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Why does HIPAA secure texting matter for doctors and patients?

Updated Jan 29th, 2023 8:25AM EST
Image: iPlum

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There is trust between a doctor and a patient when it comes to keeping information private. Medical records are personal pieces of information that need protection. That includes messages and phone calls between patients and healthcare providers. In this day and age of virtual doctor visits and information available at the touch of a button, doctors need to find ways to ensure that the use of technology won’t affect doctor-patient confidentiality. Utilizing iPlum can deliver the security both healthcare providers and patients are looking for.

iPlum is a service that allows business professionals to get in touch with clients and patients without exposing their personal phone numbers. Having a business number that you can utilize from your mobile phone provides plenty of ways for interaction. iPlum is different from traditional VoIP as it is cloud-based and provides you with a virtual mobile phone number. This can prove vital to the relationship healthcare providers have with their patients.

HIPAA Compliant Texting and Calling with iPlum

iPlum delivers HIPAA compliance for calls and texts Image source: iPlum

By downloading iPlum and using the service, doctors and healthcare providers can set up a HIPAA compliant texting and calling service to communicate with patients. iPlum offers HIPAA compliant secure communications. This includes HIPAA and HITECH compliant calling, text messaging, and secure voicemail services. If you’re a healthcare provider, a HIPAA compliant second line ensures the information you and your patients discuss is protected and encrypted.

This means that you and your patient can text about issues, have a phone call about test results, or they can also leave you a voicemail. It gives you personal privacy with a separate line that is HIPAA compliant for you and patients. Unlike most app to app HIPAA solutions that make both sides download an app, iPlum is giving the healthcare provider a separate business line.

Patients do not have to come into the office to discuss issues. A more direct form of communication helps grow trust and allows providers and patients to talk more frequently. It’s a level of comfort for both sides. Also, the iPlum app is free to download.

What else iPlum can do for healthcare professionals

iPlum also offers the option to build a phone tree with HIPAA compliance. This can help healthcare providers set up Auto-Attendant with greetings and extensions. This works great for large organizations as well as solo professionals. iPlum provides a wide range of phone tree features with call routing, making sure that the clients discussing specific issues can be sent to the correct place. That also means that entire teams can be set up with a virtual mobile phone system.

iPlum provides a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for HIPAA compliance. To keep up with the highest security levels, each number with iPlum has its own BAA. It is helpful for healthcare providers, especially therapists. Therapists need a simple way to text and call clients that is HIPAA compliant. The second one provided by iPlum can have its own distinct visual screen, notifications, and ringtone. Healthcare professionals can use either the Normal SMS for general purposes or the Secure Texting feature for exchanging healthcare information.

More that iPlum accomplishes

Professionals can count on iPlum for dual calling reliability, which gives the best call quality per situation. While healthcare rarely takes a break, for those that want to set business hours up for their patients, iPlum can do that. It will promptly send calls to voicemail during non-business hours. With an advanced password policy, there are multiple steps that iPlum takes to guarantee that an account is safe and a patient’s information is secure. iPlum can help any healthcare professional, as patients and doctors can enjoy secure communications.

Chris Hachey Commerce Editor

Chris Hachey is Senior Commerce Editor for BGR. With over a decade of editing and journalism experience, plus thousands of hours of product testing and research, he has helped millions of consumers find the best products and deals to fit their lifestyles.

When he's not searching for top deals, he's likely watching his favorite sports teams or walking around his hometown with his wife and his dog.