Written by Rob Mcmanus,

Finding a HIPAA-compliant phone system will let you communicate with patients without worrying about the safety of their data. Don’t buy one without checking if it actually meets your practice’s needs. Prioritizing safety and learning about the vendor’s rules on recording helps you make a smart decision.

What would happen if a private conversation you had with your patient ended up in the wrong hands? Some of them are probably about health concerns they are dealing with. Patients also often call to ask for medication advice before their next follow-up session.

Ensure you protect all the conversations regardless of what they are about. Having a phone system with the safeguards you need makes your work easier.

Do Phone Systems Need to be HIPAA Compliant?

Yes.  Anytime you’re using a phone to talk about information that’s protected by HIPAA, ensure the systems behind it protect the data.  When you ask yourself these questions, you’ll be able to determine if you need to change your phone system:

• Does it protect patient conversations?
• Can unauthorized people access call records?
• Are all the messages encrypted?
• Can my team control who accesses the phone?

What Is the Best HIPAA-Compliant Phone System?

It depends. Always consider the size of your practice before you buy a phone system. You might not need to use the same one other healthcare providers in your area use. Focus on ensuring it has all the features you need and is still able to protect data.

A lot of practices prefer to use mobile phones so employees can take calls and text from anywhere. You need to have proper controls when using these. Learning about topics like Google Voice HIPAA compliance will help you know if you’re actually using a safe system.

If you have VoIP, you probably chose it because a lot of your employees are already familiar with internet calling.  VoIP apps often don’t come with the kind of protection you need for your practice. Always look beyond basic calling features as you weigh your options.

What Is the Most Secure Phone for Privacy?

None is automatically safe. If you have a phone with data encryption, you won’t worry about the details in it leaking or being used by the wrong people in case you lose it. All these features are important too:

• Strong authentication
• Remote management options
• Secure messaging apps

Even if you get the most secure phone, you still need to be keen about how you use it. Connecting it to public Wi-Fi makes you more likely to lose data to hackers. Avoid giving apps permissions to things they don’t actually need.

Choosing a HIPAA-Compliant Phone System

Don’t make the mistake of looking for the phone system with the most features or the most affordable one. Your team’s work will be easier once you find a phone system that simplifies communication.

They shouldn’t have to worry about healthcare security by taking extra steps that reduce the time they actually have to serve patients.

Review Your Practice Communication Needs

Consider how your team communicates with patients and ask yourself how many people need to use it.  If some employees work from home, you probably need a different system than a practice where employees are all in one facility. As you review your needs, think about:

• Whether you want employees in different departments to use the same system
• If you often send appointment reminders through text
• Whether you record some calls

It’s always important to think about the direction your practice is headed. Having a system just meant to accommodate a few employees won’t work if your clinic is taking on a lot more patients. You need a scalable system. It will help you avoid redoing the onboarding process or having to transfer data later.

Confirm the Vendor Offers a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

You should know how your vendors handle protected details. Reading BAAs gives you the information, and it makes it easier to compare vendors. Some of them:

• Store the information
• Process it
• Transmit it via several servers

When you have an agreement, you’ll know whose duty it is to protect the data in different situations. A lot of popular messaging apps actually don’t offer a BAA. Even if you love the features and find them much simpler, it’s better not to risk using them.

Check Encryption and Security Features

You’ll often need to move information when emailing other employees in your healthcare center. Using different networks requires strong encryption. You shouldn’t have to add security protections on your own to make a phone system safer. Get one that comes with the features installed.

A lot of systems made specifically for healthcare providers will work better for you than those meant for regular use. These are some of the aspects you shouldn’t ignore:

• User authentication
• Password protection rules
• Secure data storage

The security features shouldn’t feel like something you think about after looking for the communication tools you need. Make them a priority too. You’ll be able to avoid a lot of data safety issues down the line.

Consider Shared Lines for Team Triage

When you have a busy clinic, your triage nurses should be able to receive calls instead of waiting for only one person to handle each incoming one.

Get a phone system with shared lines. As one of the employees answers a call, another one can respond to text messages. You’ll boost patient satisfaction once you have the tools allowing you to get back to them in just a short amount of time.

Having shared lines makes it easy to route calls to the right department. In case a patient calls to follow up on test results, they can just be connected to the right person. Employees will save time and avoid a lot of confusion.

Control access even if your phone system makes it easy for multiple people to use it at a time. Every employee doesn’t need unlimited access to all the information. Consider everyone’s roles as you assign shared lines.

Understand Call Recording Rules

Recording calls gives you a lot of material you can refer to when training your employees. Healthcare facilities often use the information to learn what their customers want so they can find ways to improve their services. Think about your patients’ privacy before you go ahead and record conversations.

Learn about the laws in your state regarding call recording, too. It will save you from dealing with legal issues later. Your phone system should always store the recorded conversations in a secure file.

You wouldn’t want information you just stored for documentation purposes to end up in the wrong hands. Be keen about who has access to each recording.

After you find a phone system with the features allowing you to record calls and keep them safe at all times, you’ll have peace of mind.

Look for Audit Logs and Reporting Tools

It’s important to be able to see who is using your phone system and what they are using it for. Your admin may need to see the information a patient gave earlier before texting back.

When you have a system with audit logs, you can quickly spot any unusual activity. You’ll be able to protect your information and do internal review to figure out if you need to take extra security measures.

Reporting tools analyze the data you store. Get a system with these and use them to check if your system is actually doing what it’s advertised to do. Use the information it gathers to improve how you serve your patients. You might notice things like:

• Missed calls during busy hours
• Long wait times before patients reach someone
• Some departments receiving a lot more calls
• Peak calling times that require additional staff

It’s much easier to improve when you have reports with such details. A lot of practices struggle to retain patients simply because they aren’t addressing issues that frustrate them. Having additional features on your HIPAA-compliant phone system helps you know where to direct resources.

Ensure the System Works With Your EHR

You probably already have many tools to support your team and help you manage records with less stress. Clinics need phone systems they can connect to:

• EHR platforms
• Scheduling software
• Patient management tools

If you have to transfer data between your phone system and any of these tools, there’s a high risk of making mistakes. Integration avoids costly errors, and it also saves time for everyone.

As you look for a phone system, don’t hesitate to read reviews. These can help you figure out if other healthcare providers like using it. Learn about any potential issues you’re likely to come across.

You’ll feel more confident if you’re able to get a system you can use to organize all your communication history without having to do a lot of manual work.

Finding the Best HIPAA-Compliant Phone System

Investing in a HIPAA-compliant phone system saves you from a lot of the stress you might be dealing with because of using regular messaging apps.

These don’t come with the security features and reporting tools you need in your practice. Go for solutions with data encryption. Having a system multiple people on your team can use for triage also improves efficiency. Check out our page for tips to help your practice stay compliant.

Author Bio

Rob Mcmanus writes about healthcare compliance, cybersecurity, and healthcare technology. He’s been creating practical content for 7 years, helping healthcare professionals stay up to date with industry trends and best practices. When not writing, Rob enjoys reading and planning the next getaway.

References:

Federal Trade Commission. (2023). Are Public Wi-Fi Networks Safe? What You Need to Know. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/are-public-wi-fi-networks-safe-what-you-need-know

TechTarget. (2024). What is user authentication? https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/user-authentication

Additional Resources:

Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Access here.

Primary Mitigations to Reduce Cyber Threats to Operational Technology. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Access here 

Please also review AIHCP’s Telehealth Nursing & Triage Nursing Certification program and CE Courses see if it meets your academic and professional goals.  These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification