HIPAA regulations apply to you if you are a Covered Entity and if you collect electronic Personal Health Information using an online medical or dental form.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the following companies are considered Covered Entities:
- Healthcare providers – such as doctors, clinics, dentists, nursing homes, hospitals
- Health plans – health insurance companies, HMOs, government health programs
- Healthcare clearinghouses – who process nonstandard health information they receive from another entity
Does your healthcare organization need to collect sensitive patient information?
What Does it Mean To Have a HIPAA Compliant Online Form?
Being HIPAA compliant is required for any organization dealing with electronic medical information. But how can you tell if your form needs to comply with HIPAA? Here are just a few tips to ensure your forms are secure:
- Implement access controls to track who could have accessed that information — both from the public interfaces and through their back end systems.
- Make sure that information is backed up, transmitted securely, and encrypted if needed.
- Know what information is considered PHI. PHI includes names, address, email address, date of birth, social security number, medical record number, license number, account number, and any other characteristic that could specifically identify a particular person.
- Ensure that all staff that may be accessing your PHI in any way are trained and authorized.
What are Some Examples of Online Forms That Should Comply?
A few examples of online medical or dental forms that should comply with HIPAA include:
- Appointment Request
- Medical or Dental History Forms
- Patient Registration
- Release of Records
- Health Questionnaires and Assessment Forms
General online Request for Information forms, where a visitor requests a brochure, white paper or other general marketing information, may not need to be secure.
However in today’s climate of identity theft, you should probably lean towards the side of caution. Anything to ensure the secure collection of information from your website will improve your visitor’s trust and lead to higher conversions.
Practis Forms as a Viable Secure Option
If you’re looking for HIPAA compliant online medical and dental forms, Practis Forms might be a good solution.
Practis Forms allows healthcare providers and other organizations to better comply with HIPAA because they are secure, easy to implement, allow for data export, reduce paperwork and provide for better user access control.
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