Advantages of Email
Email can eliminate phone tag, communicating at inopportune times and is convenient for both clinicians and patients. It makes it possible for you or the patient to write thoughtfully at a time and place of your choosing. It can be used to disseminate information, gather information, and to clarify things. This can often lead to more productive sessions together. Written communications can be clearer and less subject to miscommunication. Finally it makes safe, convenient contact between sessions possible.
HIPAA & Risks to Patient Security
HIPAA indicates that any sensitive material needs to be considered as part of the health information of a client. They wisely left it up to us to determine how to safeguard that information although they do talk about the kinds of things needed to create a HIPAA compliant environment. Thus it isn't just the software you use. It is the software plus the overall security of your office, your office practices and policies.
Risks to patients include sensitive material being left on unattended computers, diverted email, email sent to the wrong person, and vulnerability to hackers. Employers can access email at a business so sensitive information that shouldn't be known by an employer is discovered. These are significant risks to both you and your patients – email encryption is a simple solution in each of these scenarios.
A Fear Unfounded
A fear among practitioners is that email is uncompensated and will take up a lot of time and energy. Every major study that has been done suggests otherwise. Encrypted email has turned out to be a great convenience for both the practitioner and patients. It is just another way to communicate with patients. It fills in the blanks between sessions and makes the administration of your practice that much easier.
In my own practice encrypted email has been a great success. It takes me less than fifteen minutes a day to answer and send emails, and both my patients and I agree it is very helpful to both of us in different ways. My patients are grateful for the ability to communicate in this manner and so am I.
Details of the package I offer Click Here