If your organization deals with medical data, HIPAA compliance is vital. Depending on the violation, fines for breaching HIPAA can range from $100 to $250,000, and may even result in jail time. With HIPAA breaches showing an upward trend since 2009 – with a whopping 133 million records exposed in 2023 – call centers must ensure that their systems and agents are aligned with HIPAA’s confidentiality requirements.
Here’s how an outsourced, HIPAA-compliant call center can help your healthcare company keep callers’ confidential medical information safe and protected.
Your US Healthcare Organization – and its Call Center – Must Be HIPAA-Compliant
US-based healthcare providers, clearinghouses, and health plans are required to ensure that both their businesses and anyone handling their data are compliant with HIPAA. (Note that healthcare organizations outside the US are not subject to HIPAA.) This means it’s not enough for your business to be HIPAA compliant: if you’re outsourcing your customer support, the call center you work with must also be HIPAA compliant. This is also true of any other vendors associated with that customer support.
How Your HIPAA-Compliant Outsourced Call Center Can Maintain Privacy and Confidentiality
Below are some of the ways that a HIPAA-compliant call center can help keep patient data safe:
- Caller Verification: Confirming a patient’s identity is vital before discussing potentially sensitive information. This can be done by confirming a caller’s full name and two other pieces of personal information.
- Data Encryption: All caller data – including that communicated over the telephone, via email, chat, or SMS must be encrypted and secured to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. This protects electronic protected health information (ePHI) and is especially vital in a world where most calls are made over VOIP and are recorded and analyzed using AI.
- Authorized Users: Secure logins ensure that only authorized users have access to ePHI, and prevent sensitive information from being shared outside a controlled environment. An extra layer of protection locks devices should they be lost or stolen.
- Message Lifespans and App Timeouts: “Self-destructing” messages that are removed from a user’s device after a specific time together with inactivity timeouts help prevent ePHI from falling into the wrong hands. Additionally, security safeguards must prevent information from being “copied and pasted” outside the system.
- Appropriate Contact Protocols: HIPAA has strict requirements on how and when patients can be contacted by healthcare organizations. HIPAA-compliant contact centers ensure that the organization has patient consent for outbound calls and that customers are contacted according to appropriate regulations.
- Trained Reps: Humans are the weakest link in any cybersecurity regimen. A HIPAA-compliant contact center will ensure that all reps are trained on ePHI protocols and the “dos” and “don’ts” of protecting sensitive medical information.
Partner with ACD – The HIPAA-Compliant Outsourced Call Center Professionals
Don’t risk falling afoul of HIPAA. Engage ACD, a HIPAA-compliant outsourced call center platform. Our bespoke platform integrations together with our trained, experienced call center staff can keep ePHI data – and your business – safe. For a tailored demo, get in touch!
