Top 7 HIPAA Compliant Phone services for Therapists In 2024

Introduction 

With the age of digitalization, remote communication has become the most popular method of communication, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) being the number one choice. 

The VoIP phone system is a cost-effective way of communication between healthcare providers and patients. However, to make it trustworthy, businesses are choosing HIPAA-based phone services. Patients, especially, share sensitive and private information with the therapists in their sessions. Let’s look at how HIPAA-compliant phones for therapists are helping them with outmatching patient satisfaction outcomes and better business growth. 

Why is HIPAA-Compliant Phone Service Important? 

Ensure the security of ePHI 

ePHI stands for Electronic protected health information.  The ePHI of any individual patient is protected health information that is produced, saved, transferred, or received in an electronic form. In the U.S., the ePHI is protected and preserved under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule. So, by using HIPAA-compliant phone services, the therapists would be able to protect such sensitive ePHI data and other info thereby adhering to the law. 

Build Patient trust 

Patient trust is crucial for maintaining a healthy patient-doctor relationship. This bond of trust lets the patient be open and vocal about their issues and discuss their personal information. That is why HIPAA-compliant phones for therapists are necessary. Therapists go over a lot of personal, even private information to give the best medical solutions to their patients. With the security of HIPAA-based VoIP phones, the patient could trust their therapists more, leading to eventual reputation growth for the business. 

Communicate important information with authorized personnel safely 

Sharing information without any data manhandling or breach is the biggest convenience of HIPAA-compliant phone service for therapists. There are government-laid consequences and penalties in case of failure to use HIPAA compliance. Civil penalties as well as criminal penalties going up to $250,000 can be imposed along with jail time. These many security measures make sure that the sharing of patients’ information is done by the law and protected from any kind of breach or mishandling. 

Top 7 HIPAA-Compliant Phone Services for Therapists: A Quick Comparison  

1. Emitrr 
2. Dialpad 
3. RingCentral 
4. Nextiva 
5. CallHippo
6. Vonage 
7. 8X8

Key Highlights 

• Emitrr software has the highest possible rating for customer support (5.0/5.0)
• The Emitrr platform also has the highest rating for features (4.8/5.0), value for money (4.9/5.0), and ease of use (4.9/5.0)
• Vonage and Dialpad software has the lowest rating for customer support (3.7/5.0) and features (4.1/5.0)
• The Vonage software has the lowest rating for “value for money” as well (3.8/5.0)
• Most software offers very limited features and Vonage software offers only mobile support at their price ($13.99). 

Features to Look For in HIPAA-Compliant Phone Services in 2024 

If you are looking for the best HIPAA-compliant phone services for therapists in 2024, these are some essential features you must keep in mind.

Call Routing 

A call routing feature is needed in VoIP phones to manage call queues efficiently and never miss a call on any network. Seamless call routing helps enhance the customer experience and streamlines all phone conversations.

Call Recording 

The best HIPAA-compliant phones for therapists offer call recording so that the client never misses any relevant or sensitive information. As a therapist, sometimes you need to assess your session with the client to make sure all their problems are heard. In these cases, the call recording feature of VoIP phone systems comes in handy. 

Call Monitoring 

The call monitoring option is a feature of HIPAA-compliant phone service for therapists. Call monitoring allows a supervisor to overhear/join a live call between the therapist and the patient. None of the parties are informed about the supervisor. This supervising technique helps in checking a few call parameters such as the goal of the call, call quality, therapist performance, and efficiency. Keep your therapy professionals on their toes with call monitoring and drive the best business results. 

Call Transfer 

Never again miss a potential client call with the HIPAA-compliant phone’s call transfer feature for therapists. Call transfer lets you transfer any client’s call from phone to desktop or even to another agent within seconds. This way professionals don’t need to hang up on a client or redial in case they are not available, they can simply transfer the call to another available therapist. Call transfer increases business efficiency and also patient experience. 

Voicemail 

Easily leave messages over voicemails in case the client is busy or cannot pick up at the moment. HIPAA-compliant VoIP phone services for therapists allow them to leave voicemails for patients and access their voicemails from anywhere, on any device. With voicemails, you never miss important calls, and their details and achieve business efficiency round-the-clock. 

Voicemail Transcription

Converting voicemails to text-based messages acts as an added layer of productivity for businesses. Medical professionals and therapists always have their plates full of patients, diagnostic reports, and long therapy sessions. To reduce the load of their task, voicemail transcriptions are the best. These transcriptions are sent via text messages and can be easily accessed anytime, anywhere. 

Call Disposition

Use call disposition to identify the points of improvement, and understand visible outcomes of a call, and overall performance. Call disposition is an asset for HIPAA-compliant phone services for therapists as they can keep a record of the objective and performance of all their inbound and outbound calls which would help in yielding better business results.

IVR 

IVR helps in establishing better customer support which in turn leads to customer satisfaction. With IVR any patient or client can have a phone conversation at any point of the day. Even if the end message comes out as “leave a message”, still every patient’s phone call is received and not hung up. This method instills a sense of satisfaction for clients and can lead to better business returns. 

Seamless Integration

Importing a contact list and providing integration with other CRM is crucial for HIPAA-compliant phone services for therapists. The contact list helps in making a database of all the clients and it’s easily accessible for VoIP communication.

Automated missed call-to-text

With automated call-to-text, clients get a direct text message in case they miss the call. A new message thread starts between patients and therapists helping them interact easily. The missed-call-to-text feature helps in always staying in contact with clients and increasing business productivity for better outreach. 

Top 7 HIPAA-Compliant Phone Services for Therapists – A Detailed Analysis

Emitrr 

The Emitrr software is a well-known HIPAA-compliant phone service for therapists that offers exemplary VoIP functionality for seamless phone conversations along with intuitive texting capabilities. The Emitrr platform has received five-star reviews from software review platforms for its customer support and ease of use. 

Emitrr Features

• Call forwarding feature through a key press to the phone number, extension, call queue groups, ring everyone or to another call tree 
• Set up call groups with multiple extensions/team members
• Select and define call routing rupees for each call queue group 
• Customers get multiple transmission solutions in case of a missed call such as another extension, another number, or a call being transmitted to voicemail
• With Emitrr, you can set up multiple extensions for every individual 
• Emitrr allows you to set up user hours, user availability by day, or call forwarding rules for each user 
• Set up VoIP to ring everyone or ring an extension during working hours or even after hours 
• Forward calls to the call tree/IVR system 
• Automatically record calls to get important information 
• Setup general business hours for ease of use 
• Send group texts for better team efficiency 
• Send bulk messages for business scalability 
• Import your contact list  with just a few clicks 
• Emitrr supports more than 1000+ integrations to sync data from your current CRM easily 

Emitrr Pros

• Highly intuitive features
• Cost-effective 
• Robust platform, free from any kinds of bugs 
• Ample integrations 
• Round-the-clock customer support 

Emitrr Cons

• More features are coming soon!

Emitrr Support Channel

• Email/Help Desk
• FAQs/Forum
• Knowledge Base
• Phone Support
• 24/7 (Live rep)
• Chat

Emitrr Pricing

• Starts at $99 per month 

Emitrr Review

Dialpad 

The Dialpad is an AI-supported platform that offers VoIP functionalities for its users. Dialpad’s features offer business efficiency along with reputation management. 

Dialpad Features

• Dialpad offers to organize incoming calls 
•  offers basic recording capabilities. You can review recordings for better information-gathering
•  Call monitoring feature in real-time
•  offers multichannel communication to support integration
• Dialpad supports VoIP connections to its clients 
• With Dialpad, users can avail of video conferencing capabilities 
• Easy integration with CRM platforms  

Dialpad Pros

• Flexible features
• Easy set up

Dialpad Cons

• The software has a lot of bugs 
• Ineffective customer support 

Dialpad Support Channel

• 24/7 (Live rep)
• Knowledge Base
• Chat
• Email/Help Desk,
• Phone Support
• FAQs/Forum

Dialpad Pricing

• Starts at $27 per month for limited features 

Dialpad Review

RingCentral 

RingCentral offers VoIP features for small businesses. RingCentral has good customer support at flexible pricing. Their MVP, RingEx, is a cloud software that offers clients VoIP phone services and messaging options around the clock.

RingCentral Features

• Offers Voice Mail
•  Offers call recording software
• offers Call Routing
• Assist you with Contact Management Software
•  Voice Mail feature 
•  IVR Software

RingCentral Pros

• User-friendly interface 
• Easy to setup

RingCentral Cons

• Buggy features 
• Unprofessional customer staff 

RingCentral Support Channel

• Email/Help Desk
• Phone Support
• Chat
• FAQs/Forum
• Knowledge Base
• 24/7 (Live rep)

RingCentral Pricing

• Starts at $30 per month

RingCentral Review

Nextiva 

Nextiva promises seamless communication between businesses and clients. Nextiva is an enhanced VoIP platform with AI services. The Nextiva app offers personalized communication tools for better client engagement.

Nextiva Features

• Nextiva offers call center management 
• VoIP connection for communication with clients 
• Offers call conferencing feature 
•  call queue management capability 
• The software supports multi-channel communication for its clients 
•  offers video conferencing features for client engagement 

Nextiva Pros

• Good customer support 
• Ease of use 

Nextiva Cons

• Expensive for the limited features they offer 
• Buggy features

Nextiva Support Channel

• Phone Support
• Email/Help Desk
• FAQs/Forum

Nextiva Pricing

• Starts at $20 for limited features 

Nextiva Review

CallHippo 

CallHippo is a business VoIP system that focuses on efficient customer connection using VoIP functionality. They offer advanced analytics and integrations for better business productivity. 

CallHippo Features

• Offers Call Monitoring
• Offers Call Recording
• Call Reporting
• Call Routing
• Call Transfer
• IVR feature 
• Voice Mail
• Third-Party Integrations
• Reporting/Analytics for reputation handling 

CallHippo Pros

• Robust software 
• Easy to use 

CallHippo Cons

• Hidden charges/disturbances in pricing plans 
• Poor call quality 

CallHippo Support Channel

• Knowledge Base
• Chat
• Email/Help Desk
• Phone Support
• FAQs/Forum
• 24/7 (Live rep)

CallHippo Pricing

• Starts at $20 per month 

CallHippo Review

Vonage 

The Vonage communication software is meant for business communications using VoIP functionality.  Vonage Solutions as a HIPAA-compliant phone for therapists brings out cost-effective VoIP features for better productivity and client satisfaction.

Vonage Features

• Call Monitoring
• Call Recording
• Call Routing
• Call Transfer
• Chat/Messaging
• Computer Telephony Integration
• Conferencing
• IVR
• Voice Mail

Vonage Pros

• Easy to setup 

Vonage Cons

• Slow customer support 

Vonage Support Channel

• Phone Support
• FAQs/Forum
• 24/7 (Live rep)
• Email/Help Desk
• Chat

Vonage Pricing

• Starts at $13.99 only for mobiles. Different subscription packages with more features at higher prices. 

Vonage Review

8X8 

The 8X8 is an all-inclusive software for phone, video, and messaging. The 8X8 platform focuses on unified customer engagement throughout businesses. The 8X8 app offers voicemail over VoIP, flexible call flows, and global coverage.

8X8 Features

• Automated Attendant
•  Call Center Management
•  Call Conferencing
•  Call Logging
•  Call Recording Software
•  Call Routing
•  Mobile Access
•  Online Voice Transmission 
• IVR/Voice Recognition

8X8 Pros

• Ease of use 

8X8 Cons

• Very poor customer experience 

8X8 Support Channel

• 24/7 (Live rep)
• Chat
• Email/Help Desk
• FAQs/Forum
• Knowledge Base
• Phone Support

8X8 Pricing

• The 8X8 platform offers different subscription packages. The basic package starts at $24 per month for limited features

8X8 Review

Benefits of Using HIPAA-Compliant Phone Services for Therapists

Cost savings 

The VoIP phone system is completely cloud-based, and no wiring of traditional phone systems is required. With VoIP, businesses can easily cut excessive setup costs and save a lot of time. Businesses can achieve better productivity and cut long hours of wait on phone lines with HIPAA-Compliant Phone Services for Therapists.

Security and Compliance

The bond of trust is of utmost importance between a patient and a therapist. As therapists, healthcare professionals do receive and go over some sensitive personal details of patients that need to be secured. That’s why therapists as healthcare professionals should select the best HIPAA-compliant phone for therapists that abides by the specifications and regulations laid down by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996. 

Thereby HIPAA-compliant phone services for therapists keep client data and sensitive info secret without any data breach. 

Uptime reliability 

VoIP system offers the highest uptime and best call quality for patient satisfaction. With the help of fast and secure internet, VoIP phone services can provide its services in difficult remote areas, offering businesses constant contact with clients hence better outreach and business efficiency.

Improve patient engagement 

The best part about HIPAA-compliant phone service for therapists is the seamless communication with patients. With VoIP connecting with patients, sending voicemails, and getting transcription messages, reminder calls, security, and call quality are achieved.  So achieve seamless patient engagement for your business with HIPAA-compliant phone services. 

Enhanced patient experience 

Therapists can better serve their patients and focus on their well-being without worrying about business outreach. Smooth and secure communication through VoIP improves patient experience and increases business productivity. With easy and secure reachability, the business gains a good reputation, and the business demands upscale leading to growth. 

Why is Emitrr the Best HIPAA-Compliant Phone Service For Therapists? 

If you are looking for a HIPAA-compliant phone for therapists, then look no further. Emitrr can be the best HIPAA-compliant phone for therapists in today’s day and age. At Emitrr, we focus on optimizing your client’s VoIP experience, focus on call quality, and monitor the patient-therapist dynamic for better outreach, while also ensuring that all patient information is secure. Emitrr’s main goal is to offer its customers the best VoIP features under their budget for their business goals. 

Excellent Uptime 

Emitrr offers an uptime of 99.99% as a HIPAA-compliant phone service for therapists. With Emitrr the therapists and other healthcare providers can be rest assured about the call quality. The high uptime and constant good call quality lets you connect with your patients from anywhere within seconds. This instant communication lets patients and clients believe in your business outreach and helps you upscale your business demands. 

Advanced Analytics 

Emitrr software lets you take care of your patients while it takes care of your business performance. Emitrr offers advanced analytics to improve average call response time, average handle time, and missed calls. With Emitrr you can monitor and improve call quality and call routing channels. So, as one of the best HIPAA-compliant phones for therapists, Emitrr helps you leverage analytics to stay ahead of the curve. 

Call Pop feature for efficient inbound call notifications 

The call pop-up feature of Emitrr’s VoIP system is really advantageous for inbound calls. The Call pop-up feature displays information about a caller when they call so that the receiver has some prior knowledge about the caller. This saves time and increases the efficiency of inbound calls. 

Additional intuitive features for better business outcomes 

Beyond the normal average VoIP phone features – enjoy easy automation, texting capabilities, missed call to text, unwavering customer support, and much more with Emitrr. The Emitrr software focuses on overall business growth. So, as a HIPAA-compliant phone for therapists, Emitrr offers VoIP features, SMS capabilities, and advanced analytics for optimum scalability. 

Seamless integration with EHR/EMR

Emitrr offers easy integration with EHR/EMR systems for more than 1000+ software. So you can easily import your contact list, and medical records without any data inconsistencies. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

After weighing the pros and cons of so many HIPAA-compliant phones for therapists, we have come to a conclusion. One software that surpasses all expectations is Emitrr. The Emitrr software fits well as the best HIPAA-compliant phone for therapists with its exceptional features and business-driven output results. Book a demo today to select which Emitrr’s use case suits you best!