To make sure that digitalization did not endanger patient data, telemedicine was created to be HIPAA compliant. Since 1996, HIPAA has served as the compliance benchmark for private health information. But during the past 24 years, a lot has happened in both medicine and technology. Telemedicine has become more commonplace, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic concerns. Patient charting has shifted from the file cabinet to the cloud.
How do telemedicine and HIPAA compliance interact for practises and medical institutions who are exploring video conferencing today? There have been significant developments to take note of as a result of recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations. Here is the current state of HIPAA-compliant telemedicine in the United States. Also, it is a HIPAA Violation to not follow the HIPAA guidelines.
Telemedicine and HIPAA Compliance
The Privacy Rule and the Security Rule are the HIPAA provisions that regulate telemedicine. The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes guidelines to safeguard patient medical records and any personal health information (PHI) that is shared with health insurance providers, doctors, laboratories, or any other party.
The HIPAA Security Rule digitalizes the Privacy Rule. This law mandates that healthcare providers and suppliers take action to protect PHI when information is transferred digitally, whether it be via the Internet, through a videoconference, or through any other method.
HIPAA Compliant Telemedicine Software
How does HIPAA impact telemedicine, videoconferencing, or any other businesses that send PHI over the internet? Although some medical professionals think that sharing PHI directly between a patient and a provider makes the transmission compliant, the communication route itself may be a security concern for patient data. Companies that provide telemedicine services must take precautions to maintain the security of both the patient data they retain and send in order to be recognised as HIPAA compliant. Electronic health records (EHR) and any other technology that transfers patient data over the phone or online are likewise subject to HIPAA regulations.
Vendors are required under the HIPAA Security Rule to take efforts to ensure that a secure communication system is in place so that only authorised parties have access to patient data. The following technical precautions are often necessary for this:
Establish a method to limit access to electronic PHI to those who are permitted.
Verify each end user’s identification who accesses the electronic PHI.
Use encrypted, secure communication between suppliers, patients, and service providers.
Securely encrypt electronic PHI throughout both transmission and storage.
Keep an eye on these systems to guarantee data security.
Verify the data’ accuracy by validating it.
Periodically instruct staff members who have access to PHI on proper data security procedures.
The telemedicine vendor must adhere to the Security Rule’s procedure and be capable of monitoring and responding to any potential network vulnerabilities in order to stay HIPAA compliant.
The Business Associate Agreement (BAA) between the end-user of the telemedicine service and the videoconferencing or telecommunications vendor, however, is another aspect of HIPAA compliance.