VoIP & The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

If you’re a health care provider, you know how vital HIPPA is for both you and your patient’s welfare. It helps keep sensitive data protected. Telephone communications, faxing, voicemail, video calling, and emails are also subject to HIPPA compliance, which means your business phone system should comply. Trying to abide by all the rules set forth by HIPPA can be challenging but is possible with VoIP.

What is HIPPA?

HIPPA is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It helps keep individual health records protected. Health care providers, insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmacies must all be HIPPA compliant.

Why Does VoIP Need to be HIPPA Compliant?

While a specific section in the HIPPA guidelines states, “Certain transmissions, including of paper, via facsimile, and of voice, via telephone, are not considered to be transmissions via electronic media, because the information exchanged did not exist in electronic form before the transmission,” you may be curious why your VoIP service needs to be HIPPA compliant. The reason is that VoIP is not just about voice calls anymore. With VoIP, when people leave call recordings, voice messages, and faxes, the information is being converted to electronic data and then stored.

Consequences of Using a Non-HIPPA Compliant Provider

If your business is not HIPPA compliant, you aren’t obeying the law. And so many things can go wrong, including identity fraud and financial fraud. Not complying with HIPPA could result in legal fines, lawsuits, and expensive fees, putting your business in jeopardy. To avoid the consequences, ensure your business telecommunications are HIPPA compliant.

HIPPA Compliant VoIP Features

Below are some features a HIPPA compliant VoIP service will have.

Data must be encrypted
The phones need require authentication with a certificate providing each phone with a user ID
Phone logs should be maintained
The VoIP provider supplies documentation of HIPPA compliance with a Business Associate Agreement

If you’re looking for a business phone system that is HIPPA compliant and protects your business and your patients, contact America’s Phone Guys. We are a licensed telecommunications provider serving the greater Portland OR and Vancouver WA areas.