Since the enactment of HIPAA, medical providers must ensure that the privacy of their patients’ health information is protected. Medical providers must have policies and procedures in place to ensure that their practices are HIPAA compliant. Communication procedures and cell phones should be addressed in office policy.
Mobile phones can pose a problem for medical providers as most mobile phones are available with cameras and the very popular smartphones can also send photos, emails and other documents via unencrypted emails and other messages. So what should a provider do to deal with this problem?
One solution for medical providers and facilities is to restrict cell phone use and use more secure means of communication. One option is to develop policies that prohibit the use of cell phones on the premises or in areas where confidential customer information is contained. Along with that, and to continue to maintain reliable and efficient communications with providers, the logical answer to the problems facing providers is the use of pagers.
Pagers remain the best method of communicating with medical providers, emergency services, and staff who have access to sensitive patient information and records. In addition to ensuring confidentiality and HIPAA compliance, pagers are more reliable, do not interfere with medical equipment, and are implicitly dependable, especially in emergency situations where electricity may not be available.
Pagers have been in constant use in emergency and medical settings since the 1950s. The reason pagers have such longevity is because of the benefits they offer. In today’s environment, pagers make even more sense due to the increased scrutiny and consequences of HIPPA. Pagers are, by design, more reliable than cell phones because of the way messages are transmitted. In addition, the transmission of messages through pagers is secure, unlike many cell phones.
Pager systems feature high power transmission of up to 3500 watts effective power, while typical cellular systems are rated at 100 watts. Additionally, the simulcast network from which a pager operates provides simultaneous delivery of a radio signal from multiple transmitters providing a wider coverage area and better penetration into the interior of buildings than other technologies. This is an important feature, especially in hospitals and facilities where cell phone signals are not available.
By comparison, cellular-type networks allocate a single channel on a single transmitter to a mobile connection with a smaller range and then rely on the network to “handoff” the call to another tower, if a channel is available and not overloaded. Paging systems can easily designate priorities and automatically block or limit non-critical users during periods of time when it is imperative that emergency users have access.
Another benefit of using pagers instead of cell phones is reliability. With pagers no electricity is needed for functionality because no battery charging is required like with cell phones. Cell phones won’t work without a charged battery and that need is even more pervasive with newer smartphones that have very limited battery life due to the apps that normally run on the phones. Pagers, on the other hand, are powered by standard batteries that have a lifespan of close to a year for most pagers. That, in itself, makes pagers inherently more reliable than cell phones.
The obvious feature word that cell phones offer is information integrity security. Many facilities where government securities exist do not allow cell phones to protect classified information. With the consequences for medical providers and health care facilities for violating HIPAA, this type of security should also be paramount when developing plans and policies for medical facilities.
Pagers provide comprehensive communication of important and necessary information to providers, staff and healthcare workers. Pagers are more reliable and reliable, especially in critical and emergency situations. Ultimately, protecting information privacy in this high-speed technological age is the responsibility of all vendors and facilities. Ironically, the way to provide that protection is to restore a tried and true, safe and reliable means of communication, the pager. Failure to do this leaves the facility and providers exposed to liability and the patient exposed to personal harm with the compromise of confidential information. Pagers should be considered for all medical providers and facilities.