Protect information, stay compliant, and experience the benefit of customized secure messaging solutions.

Whether you are getting critical messages from your answering service, sending protected health information (PHI) within your own organization, communicating with patients, or sharing information with other medical professionals, it must be done in a secure manner. Traditional modes of messaging like SMS texting, email, and pagers are not intrinsically protected and very often fall short of meeting legal requirements such as HIPAA and HITECH. That leaves information vulnerable and puts your organization at risk of violation. Encrypted messaging keeps you and your patients safe.

Fact: Literally hundreds of billions of text messages are sent each month in the United States

Fact: Over 80% of healthcare professionals use texting to transmit PHI

Fact: Nearly 90% of physicians use smartphones in the workplace

Fact: Productivity increases when decisions can be made quickly

Fact: Medical workers need to rapidly relay protected health info

Fact: In the next three years, studies show that texting will likely replace pagers completely

Fact: SMS texting is not secure

Fact: There is no such thing as a HIPAA-compliant texting device

Fact: Sound Telecom can provide answering and call center services, and also help you manage texting risks by getting you set up on a secure messaging platform.

Since a big part of what we do as a medical answering service is deliver messages, it only makes sense that we do so in the most secure, compliant manner possible. If you have already settled in with a secure messaging service you like, that’s great! We can interface with the one you are using. And if you are looking to get started with a secure messaging platform, we partner with the top providers so that you have the best resources available. That way, you have the variety and flexibility so we can build a truly customized secure messaging solution that solves the unique challenges you face.

Secure transmission methods allow for sending fully encrypted messages to smartphones, tablets, and computers that use Android, Apple, Windows, or Blackberry, operating systems. Your messaging platform can be password protected, your messages live in a guarded, cloud-based environment so they never have to exist on your device, alerts can be set up for critical messages that leave a time-stamped trail for audit purposes, and read receipts can also be activated. Every aspect of the message, (including photo and file attachments), are encrypted, and you have the ability to create hundreds or even thousands of users quickly while arranging user groups and establishing escalation rules. In the event that a device is lost or stolen, the secure messaging system can be deactivated remotely by a network admin.

Other than ensuring compliance with the law, what are some other benefits to secure messaging? 

• Send and receive protected messages immediately with no character limit
• Reduce costs, improve service to patients, and enhance efficiency
• Protect against data breaches
• Streamline workflows based on real-time staffing situations and integration with your on-call scheduler
• Customize secure messaging programs to fit your specific needs
• Secure, simple collaboration  and communication between doctors and patients, as well as across institutions through preferred methods of info exchange
• Allows for the transmission of admission/transfer/discharge notifications from hospitals to community physicians, case managers, and other health agencies
• Advanced reporting capabilities and message histories for detailed records

The ability to communicate in a secure environment is crucial to the smooth operation of your organization. Healthcare professionals need to quickly relay protected information to increase productivity and enhance patient care. Fully HIPAA-compliant messaging has many applications that only begin with getting secure messages from your answering service. Secure messaging is an absolute necessity in the medical field, but it has many applications for any group that needs to protect information. Contact us today to learn what the right secure messaging solution is for you so you can enjoy an easy-to-use, money-saving, safe, compliant communication experience.