Medical answering services, like Apello, handle a long list of tasks requiring compliance with HIPAA. A failure to maintain compliance would not only hurt our business, but it would also jeopardize our medical clients. We have no intention of doing either. That’s why we emphasize training. To an agent, training is everything.
Known formally as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPAA‘s original intent was not to target medical answering services and our activities. In fact, what medical answering services do is just one small component of what the legislation addresses. Nonetheless, we are compelled to comply with those provisions that our activities fall under.
We have an obligation to train our agents so as to ensure they both understand and comply with all HIPAA mandates. Every medical answering service should be able to say the same thing. If your current answering service cannot, perhaps it’s time to move on.
Formal Training and Certification
Phone operators taking medical calls, whether they work for answering services or actual providers, are trained and certified in HIPAA. Earning certification demonstrates an agent’s understanding of the requirements, especially where personal health information (PHI) is concerned.
This suggests that a medical provider should not hire an answering service that cannot prove HIPAA certification. An uncertified answering service presents too many risks.
What Training Covers
Industry training courses can vary in practice and procedure. Some can even go above and beyond in terms of their content. But as a general rule, here is what HIPAA training covers:
- Policies and Procedures – Policy and procedure training cover the use of secure communication channels to safeguard patient information. Channels include encrypted calls and emails. Storage systems, like password protected secure storage, are also included.
- Access Control – Training includes information about access control policies and protocols. Such policies and protocols exist to guarantee only authorized personnel handle and access PHI. In addition, agents learn about how all data access is logged and monitored.
- Incident Response – Response and reporting are critical whenever a covered incident occurs. Agents are trained in both reporting protocols and contingency plans in the event a breach occurs.
- Practical Applications – The best training programs include practical application. Agents don’t just learn HIPAA information in a vacuum. They learned to apply it to real-world situations they will encounter in the workplace.
It is important to note that HIPAA training is not a one-and-done exercise. HIPAA is a constantly evolving legislative beast. It needs to be always complied with. But for that to happen, agencies need to stay abreast of changes and offer appropriate training.
Why Compliance Matters So Much
It is easy to see why HIPAA compliance matters so much in the medical provider’s office or major hospital. The electronic health records (EHR) systems they utilize store unimaginable amounts of data directly related to patients and their identities. Healthcare organizations simply cannot take any chances with that data. But what about answering services?
Compliance still matters just as much. Answering services are still dealing with sensitive patient information with every call answered. Moreover, medical answering services can often integrate their systems with a client’s system, thereby providing access to all sorts of data. So answering services and their agents need to know how to comply.
HIPAA is complicated. Still, medical answering services need to be aware of their responsibilities to it. We are here at Apello. If you are looking for a new medical answering service and would like to know how we maintain HIPAA compliance, don’t be afraid to ask. We are committed to doing right by our clients.
