From the perspective of a patient, the privacy of health records can be equally as important as receiving quality care from providers. When patients do not feel that their health records are private, they may be reluctant to share complete and candid disclosures of sensitive information with their physicians.
It’s crucial for healthcare providers to understand that when it comes to trust, the protected health information (PHI) of patients is one of the most valuable assets they own. Unfortunately, it is at risk at all stages, from collection to storage, handling, and communication.
Looking at communication in particular, one recent survey found that 80% of patients rely on digital channels such as email and telehealth portals, to communicate with their healthcare providers. Despite the convenience of online communication, the risks to PHI during transmission cannot be undermined.
Even if we put aside HIPAA compliance issues for a moment, unless patients feel that you are doing enough to safeguard their personal information, they are likely to go elsewhere. With the average customer retention rate for the healthcare industry hovering around 77%, patient trust is critical, and going the extra mile with digital PHI security can help you win it.
In this article, we will explain how healthcare organizations can highlight their focus on patient privacy and confidentiality during online communication.
How to Show You Care about Patient Privacy
When care providers demonstrate that they care about their patients’ privacy, it helps to foster patient trust, thereby enhancing the organization’s reputation. As a provider, you may need to invest extra effort to show that you prioritize patient privacy.
Here are a few ways to show that patient privacy actually matters to your organization.
Adopt Secure Patient Portals for Information Access and Exchange
According to a 2023 report, the healthcare sector in the US witnessed 809 incidents of data compromises. This number represents an all-time high, underscoring the significance of doing more for PHI security.
When it comes to online information access and exchange, secure patient portals can be a wise investment for healthcare companies.
By implementing a patient portal, you can ensure that sensitive data is accessible only to authorized personnel. Portals like athenaOne work as digital gateways, enabling patients to schedule appointments, access their medical records, and communicate with healthcare providers.
Besides enhancing patient convenience and engagement, these portals demonstrate your commitment to privacy and reinforce patient trust. Also, they are a valuable internal tool for every organization, enabling healthcare professionals to share information while adhering to privacy protocols.
Set Up Encryption Trust Seals in Emails
Despite the growing adoption of patient portals, email continues to be a ubiquitous communication channel in healthcare. Many patients prefer email, since they facilitate direct correspondence with healthcare providers and administrative staff without any need to maintain login accounts with dedicated platforms. However, people might also worry about the inherent vulnerabilities of email.
As a provider, you can help patients overcome this apprehension by incorporating encryption trust seals into your email communication protocol. Paubox’s email suite is a solution that automatically encrypts all emails sent internally and externally by a healthcare company.
Whereas other HIPAA-compliant email solutions require patients to log in to a portal in order to see the messages they’ve received, Paubox’s solution ensures that both sender and recipient use TLS encryption, allowing PHI to be included in emails without compromising on privacy.
Adding the visual indicator of secure communication with an encryption trust seal, moreover, assures your patients regarding the safety of their sensitive data. Display these seals prominently in your email correspondence to instill confidence in patients. These seals also demonstrate compliance with privacy regulations. By implementing this measure, you can mitigate the potential repercussions of data breaches and regulatory non-compliance.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication for Access Control
In healthcare settings, where privacy is a big deal, patient trust comes not by showing but by doing. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a way to show that patient privacy is your priority. Beyond passwords and single-use access codes, you can set up high-end MFA protocols with biometric scans.
The Prove Identity’s 2023 State of MFA Report states that 61% of healthcare providers opt for MFA for online healthcare portals and apps. While the adoption rates are still relatively low, they are likely to increase over time. This proactive measure can set your company apart, because patients trust providers that go the extra mile to uphold the highest standards of data security.
Rublon is an example of an MFA solution that fortifies electronic health record (EHR) systems from potential attacks. This cloud-based solution integrates seamlessly with web, cloud, and on-premise applications to get MFA up and running within minutes.
Having MFA in place requires patients to make an extra effort while accessing their medical records or communicating with healthcare providers. However, the accessibility tradeoff is likely worthwhile.
Provide Audit Trails for Regulators
The more security and privacy seals you can display on your website, the more patients will trust you, and often, earning those seals hinges on your ability to satisfy regulatory auditors. With an audit trail, decision makers have a chronological record tracking access and modification to electronic health records. They can review logs to verify that only authorized individuals have accessed and modified this data.
Sharing audit trails fosters transparency and accountability in handling PHI. Besides winning patient trust, these can help organizations with compliance monitoring and incident response.
Scrut’s SmartGRC platform is a solution that helps healthcare companies overcome their compliance and risk management challenges. It keeps your business audit-ready through automation, setting you free of the heavy lifting of compliance. Moreover, you can use audit trials to retain patient trust for the long haul.
Keeping Their PHI Private
In conclusion, patient trust is key to success in the competitive healthcare industry. Trust in the healthcare industry doesn’t come easy, and organizations need to try and earn patient trust any way they can.
Showing patients that you care about their privacy is an excellent start. You can implement these actionable measures to show that safeguarding patient data during online communication is a priority for you. With these steps in place, you can demonstrate that you are doing enough to prevent breaches during access and exchange of sensitive information, both externally and internally.