Ensuring HIPAA Compliance When Transmitting PHI Via Patient Portals, Email, and Texting

This CLE course will guide healthcare counsel on measures for hospitals and physicians to ensure compliance and minimize liability when using patient portals and other electronic means to communicate protected health information (PHI). The panel will outline the legal risks with patient portal use and offer best practices for implementing effective policies to ensure HIPAA and regulatory compliance.

Many healthcare providers have established patient information portals to provide patients with online access to their patient records and meet quality improvement goals. Patient access to health information is one of the core objectives of meaningful use, which all Medicare providers are required to demonstrate.

While portals give patients access to information, they require providers to take measures to ensure the privacy and security of patient PHI. In addition to portals, providers' use of email and texting to communicate PHI raises HIPAA and other regulatory red flags.

Further, providers using third parties to manage portals must have business associate agreements that ensure compliance by the third-party associates.

Listen as our authoritative panel of healthcare counsel examines the legal and regulatory requirements and risks of using patient portals, online diagnostic services, email, texting, and other electronic communication for healthcare providers. The panel will offer strategies to ensure HIPAA compliance and minimize patient claims and government enforcement actions.