Author—Vaporstream Team

With the recent approval of secure texting by the Joint Commission, finding a secure, HIPAA compliant messaging solution is imperative for hospitals and independent practitioners. Utilizing secure texting not only enables the safe transmittal of sensitive information but more efficient patient care team communications. As innovations in secure technology continue to be made, there has never been a better time to ensure that your information remains safe and compliant by implementing a secure texting solution.

Secure messaging solutions align a secure and confidential means of transmitting electronic health records with the simplistic and convenient feel of a standard SMS texting. This enables the effortless communication among patient care teams however facilitates compliance via integration with EHR systems. Ensuring that your messaging solution is secure and compliant is the first step towards protecting patient information under HIPAA.

As the Joint Commission has previously banned the transmittal of patient orders through standard texting, the recent approval of secure texting enables doctors to utilize encrypted texting to transmit requests easily while still remaining compliant. Finding an application with strong encryption, enabling the information to be encrypted at rest and during transmittal, ensures that patient information remains secure.

Another means of securing information is by maintaining a limited time frame that a message is available to be viewed on a mobile device. Ephemerality ensures that private information cannot be carelessly stored or used incorrectly at a later date. A single copy of the record is already stored in the EHR to meet compliance requirements therefore ephemerality ensures that data is not inadvertently mishandled or shared. This also helps to avoid issues in the case of lost or stolen devices, eliminating the need to wipe text.

In addition, having a record of read receipts also enables the sender to know whether or not their information was viewed before deletion. Many secure texting apps now have an instant delete feature but finding a solution that enables users to instantly and permanently discard information that has already been transmitted ensures that information is the most current information being used. Working with a messaging solution that has these features helps ensure information is kept safe and secure and that lines of communication between patient care teams remain open, ultimately ensuring better patient care.

Vaporstream© HIPAA compliant secure messaging not only fulfills all of the Joint Commissions requirements for secure texting apps but also has a number of unique features that help organizations remain compliant. With the ability to send obscured messages, sender and administrative controls and multiple patented screen shot protection features, Vaporstream creates a safer means of instantly communicating among medical professionals. With Vaporstream users can feel empowered in their communications of sensitive information – aiding in improved communication and superior patient care.

For more information on how Vaporstream helps healthcare professionals remain HIPPA compliant and follow the new Joint Commission guidelines, please contact us.