Spending time with
family and living life should not be sacrificed to HIPAA. That is, you can use
your cell phone to communicate with your patients. And hopefully, you will from
some scenic places, or while spending some quality family time.
HIPAA does not restrict
you communications to encrypted emails, and landlines.
But you do have the
continued obligations to implement technical, physical and administrative
safeguards in using your cellphone as you do any other communication device.
So, if you're going to
use your cell phone, be smart and safe about it.
Make sure your cell
phone is password protected if it has patient information on it. This is
especially true if your phone is linked to your EHR and practice management
electronic systems. If you’re going to end emails, you have to have the
same encryption safeguards that you do with your office systems.
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Then makes sure you take
steps to secure the phone physically. That has the locator functionally on in
case you lose it. Control who you let use your phone. That is, don’t pass it to
your teenager as an amusement device, or to call them friends.
And when you do speak
with patients, its like the elevator at the hospitals – be cognizant of where
you are when you do speak. Don’t carry on the call in a public place, find a
corner or walk away from the crowd. And when speaking is cognizant of what you
say, trying to avoid saying anything that could identify the patient, or
publicly share sensitive personal health information.
A good practice is to
tell your caller upfront that you are on a cell phone and ask if it is ok to
continue the conversation, or if they would prefer to be re-contacted when you
can get to a landline or more secure location. This lets them know where you
are and lets them take part in the responsibility for the call.
Another responsibility
that does not change is the obligation to document. So, check out the recording
features of your phone, again, password protection is a must. After the call,
record a simple reminder note that the call occurred, when, any medical advice
is given, and on what basis you make it. And if you are committing to calling
in a prescription, make sure you record it and call it in. You need not dictate
a full not, that can wait till later, but you want enough to know what to enter
into the patient’s medical record when you do.
So, get out of the
office without being out of patient contact. Far better, of course, is if
you have coverage so you can get out of the office and be out of patient contact
for at least a little while.
