The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a comprehensive set of regulations that anyone in the healthcare industry is familiar with. But with healthcare technology rapidly changing, companies like Acrobits are developing HIPAA-compliant unified communication solutions to streamline real-time communications for companies in the healthcare industry.
Companies dealing with sensitive patient data are required by United States law to be HIPAA-compliant. These standards were set out by Congress to protect patients from having their confidential health information mishandled by healthcare service providers.
They impact how practitioners and administrators communicate within an organization, how communication between practitioners and patients occurs, and any best practices and standards organizations need to follow.
And like every business, healthcare companies need to rely on technology to provide effective care. But it isn’t enough to select a healthcare app and start using it. A given solution has to meet all of the electronic standards established in HIPAA.
Many healthcare companies struggle to strike a balance between safety and security and to create efficient internal systems.
What You Need to Know About HIPAA-Compliance and Communications
If you deal with sensitive data, you already know how rigid HIPAA is when it comes to dealing with privacy and security. That’s why it’s vital that you work with a technology partner that has developed a platform that meets HIPAA’s requirements. HIPAA applies to companies that handle protected health information (PHI) and requires these companies to have physical, network, and process security measures in place and to follow them. HIPAA defines what can and can’t be communicated over the phone and through text messages between medical professionals, employees, and patients and protects hard copies of medical records from getting into the wrong hands. HIPAA-compliant organizations must have physical and technical safeguards and policies in place, including:- Building and facility access that is limited and uses authorized security
- Policies and training regarding access to workstations and electronic use
- Restrictions for removing, deleting, and transferring electronic protected health information (ePHI)
- Unique user IDs for monitoring and tracking
- Emergency access policies
- Encryption and decryption processes for data at rest and during transit
- Audits and tracking logs that record activity on software and hardware
HIPAA Violations Are Serious
Companies that violate HIPAA can receive fines ranging from as low as $100 all the way up to a few million dollars. Thanks to social media, the integration of new technology in healthcare, electronic data transmission, and faulty cyber-security – HIPAA violations seem to be at an all-time high. So, what are the real costs of violating HIPAA?- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston was ordered to pay over $4.3 million related to the organization’s encryption policies in 2013
- Presence Health was fined $475,000 for a HIPAA violation in 2017
- One dermatology practice was fined $150,000 for losing an unencrypted flash drive that contains sensitive information
- Fresenius Medical Care North America was ordered to pay a $3.5 million fine due to faulty security and encryption systems.
Cloud Softphone Is a HIPAA-Compliant Real-Time Communications App
The consequences of violating HIPAA are serious, costly, and require a serious amount of investment to fix. Although HIPAA can make technology for medical data seem scary, it’s also technology that saves organizations the headache and costs of violations. HIPAA is constantly changing as technology evolves, and now it’s more important than ever that companies use current software that meets HIPAA regulations. Cloud Softphone is a HIPAA-compliant, white-label communications platform that allows companies to create their own personalized real-time communications app.Build a white label softphone app
Create a custom white-label softphone with Cloud Softphone.
No devs needed
Native desktop apps
100+ premium features
But just how does Cloud Softphone guarantee HIPAA-compliance?
Our platform uses a private encryption stack that’s so secure that it’s being used by the European Parliament. We spent years creating our own internal encryption system because we know how important your privacy and security is, especially in the healthcare sector.
You can use our simplified app builder to create a HIPAA-compliant real-time communications app in just minutes. Here are just a few of the features our platform offers:
- Push notifications for ensuring that important notices are seen by the right people
- Messaging for creating seamless communications between your staff and patients
- Access to our award-winning encryption stack
- API support for integrating additional functionality and other apps you rely on
- Call and video support that uses high-quality codecs and has no dropoff
Mobile Heartbeat trusts us.
Cloud Softphone is a provider to Mobile Heartbeat, a patient-centric mobile app that was acquired by HCA Healthcare. Our software allows Mobile Heartbeat to focus on bringing their patients effective healthcare solutions at a lower cost because the company can rely on our platform to deliver HIPAA-compliant real-time communications.Build Your HIPAA-Compliant Real-Time Communications App with Cloud Softphone
Using multiple applications to ensure organization-wide HIPAA compliance is expensive, ineffective, and slows down your day-to-day operations. Cloud Softphone allows organizations to “build your own app” by picking and choosing the best features and integrations. Our white label softphone platform works with Cisco and Broadcast DFSK, and supports API integrations. We can save your business hundreds of thousands on development costs, making our solution the most affordable and safest choice for healthcare companies. Are you interested in learning more about Cloud Softphone, and how our platform can help you improve your internal communication systems?
Build your own HIPAA-compliant real-time communications app in just minutes.
Schedule your demo to learn how we can make that possible.
Build a white label softphone app
Create a custom white-label softphone with Cloud Softphone.
No devs needed
Native desktop apps
100+ premium features
