Guide to HIPAA-Compliant Voicemail Service

Introduction 

Patient communication can take many forms, be it face-to-face, on the phone, email, text, or voicemail. One major component of patient communication is being compliant with HIPAA guidelines. HIPAA guidelines are put in place to protect patient’s privacy and security. 

Voicemail is often used when one is unable to connect with the patient through a call. It is imperative that even this method of communication remains HIPAA compliant. This is why many healthcare organizations are looking for solutions that will help them receive and send voicemails in a compliant manner. 

What is a HIPAA-compliant voicemail service?

A HIPAA-compliant voicemail service is nothing but a service that allows a healthcare organization to send, receive, and store voicemail messages to patients in a secure manner. 

The three areas in which the voicemail needs to be HIPAA compliant are:

• Any system that is used to record incoming messages 
• The greeting recorded on the provider’s voicemail system
• Voicemail messages left on the patient’s answering machine 

Therefore any voicemail service that you choose needs to be HIPAA compliant. 

The importance of HIPAA-compliant voicemail services 

Whether you like it or not every communication channel has the potential to be breached if not guarded properly. This is the case with voicemails as well and patient information can be compromised through the recordings. In order to ensure patient confidentiality, healthcare providers must use HIPAA-compliant voicemail systems. Violation may lead to hefty fines and lawsuits.

Steps to stay HIPAA compliant while leaving a voicemail

It’s necessary to stay HIPAA compliant while you are leaving a voicemail for your patient. Remember to follow these points while leaving a voicemail and you will be able to ensure HIPAA compliance.

Exclude unnecessary information

It’s important that only relevant information be mentioned in the voicemail. Any message that could potentially reveal a patient’s health information should be avoided at any cost. 

Only leave patients the provider’s name and a number they can call back. The message can be something like this: “ Hi, we have been trying to reach you regarding your appointment. Please call back {{provider name}} at {{phone number}}. “

This message ensures that the type of appointment is not revealed while also conveying to the patient the manner in which they contact their provider. 

Ensure voicemail isn’t accessible to others 

Make sure to obtain the patient’s personal cell phone number. This way no other person other than the patient can have access to the voicemail. Ensure to never leave a message with someone else in the patient’s household phone number as it may be accessible to other members as well. 

Respect patient preference

If a patient doesn’t give their consent for voicemail messages, refrain from doing so. 

Organizations must comply with patient requests when it comes to confidentiality measures. If a patient requests communication solely to a secure number or password-protected inbox, organizations must use this option.

Features to look for in a HIPAA Compliant Voicemail Service

To send, receive, and store voicemail messages you need a HIPAA-compliant voicemail service. When looking for a HIPAA-compliant voicemail service, ensure that it has the following features:

Encryption

Encryption is a necessary feature for any healthcare communication medium. It ensures that messages passed in transit are encrypted and no third party is able to access the contents of the message. Encryption methods are applied both when the message is in transit as well as when it is stored on serves. 

Encryption for transmission involves the implementation of Transport Layer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols. When you access your voicemail via a web interface or mobile app, TLS/SSL encrypts the communication between your device and the voicemail server to prevent eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Storage encryption involves the protection of voicemail messages when it is at rest. It is achieved via algorithms such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). This algorithm ensures that even if anyone gains access to the storage they cannot access the message without a decryption key. 

Separate business lines

A second business line is a good option to enhance privacy. A doctor may receive calls from many sources. These include pharmacies, patients, and hospital administrators.

A second line on one phone can keep these separate. This lets the phone user know who is calling, and when. They can choose to answer calls that may contain PHI in secure locations.

Access Controls

This feature ensures that only those personnel with a legitimate need for access to the recording are able to listen to the voicemail. Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide additional verification and unique user IDs beyond just a password. Through this feature, one will always know who was able to access the recording and have a trail in case of need.

Business Associate Agreements

Organizations that need HIPAA-compliant Voicemail service or HIPAA-compliant VOIP must enter into signed agreements both with the VoIP providers themselves, as well as the associated parties involved. 

The BAA sets clear guidelines for compliance with the official HIPAA rules, ensuring that all parties agree to handle ePHI in the same way—namely, in accordance with the law. A good business associate agreement also governs actions in the event of a breach or violation. It spells out, in detail, the necessary steps that all parties must take in order to stay on the legal side of all things ePHI-related.

Template for HIPAA-Compliant Voicemail 

When leaving a voicemail message to patient: 

“Hello, this is [Your Name] from [Your Practice]. Please give us a call back at [Phone Number] at your earliest convenience. If you prefer, you can also reach us via [Email]. For your privacy, please do not share any sensitive information in your voicemail. Thank you, and we look forward to speaking with you soon.”

Voicemail greeting for your organization:

“Hello, you’ve reached [Your Name] at [Your Organization/Department]. I am currently unavailable to take your call. Please leave your name, contact number, and a brief message after the tone. For your privacy, please do not include any sensitive health information in your message. If this is an urgent matter, please call [Alternate Contact Number] or visit our office at [Office Address]. Thank you for your understanding. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Have a great day.”

Top 5 HIPAA-compliant Voicemail Service 

When you are looking for HIPAA-compliant voicemail service, you will mostly need to consider VOIP systems as they provide voicemail services. Here is the list of the top 5 HIPAA-compliant voicemail services you must consider: 

Emitrr

Emitrr is the best HIPAA-compliant Voicemail Service that ensures the security of stored voicemail messages and ensures end-to-end encryption while messages are transmitted as well. This VoIP phone system offers a plethora of useful features, integrations with 500+ PMS/EMR tools, affordable pricing, and caters to all kinds of healthcare professionals. Emitrr is also the highest rated (5/5) software for its customer service on Capterra, is HIPAA compliant and is extremely secure. 

Emitrr also has very extensive voicemail features that are highly beneficial to healthcare organizations. Emitrr’s voicemail features includes: 

Emitrr Features 

• Encrypted and role-based storage access 
• Notification for missed voicemail messages 
• Voicemail transcription 
• Missed Voicemail text sends a follow-up text message
• Voicemail Greeting Upload 

Emitrr Reviews 

Emitrr has an overall rating of 4.9/5 on Capterra. Here is what customers have to say about Emitrr: 

Emitrr Support 

Emitrr offers support in the following formats: Phone, Live rep, Chat support, Email, FAQs, Knowledge base

Emitrr has a customer support rating of 5/5 on Capterra 

Weave

Weave is a customer engagement tool with VOIP features. Small and medium-sized businesses use Weave for VOIP services. 

Weave Features 

• Voicemail greeting recording 
• Voicemail transcription 
• Missed call text back 

Weave Reviews 

Weave has an overall rating of 4.3/5 on Capterra. Here is what customers have to say about weave: 

Weave Support 

Weave offers support in the following formats: FAQs/Forum, Phone Support, Chat, Email/Help Desk, Knowledge Base. 

Weave has a customer support rating of 3.8/5 on Capterra. 

SolutionReach

Solutionreach is a patient engagement platform designed for healthcare practices of all sizes, including primary care, multi-unit operations, and specialty practices.It does not offer VOIP but it does have a few voicemail features

SolutionReach Features 

• Voicemail message delivery: This feature allows to leave voicemails with necessary information 
• Voicemail reminders: If patients fail to pick up reminder calls they will receive voicemail ensuring no information is missed out. 

SolutionReach Reviews 

Solutionreach has an overall rating of 3.8/5 on Capterra. Here is what customers have to say about Solutionreach. 

SolutionReach Support 

Solutionreach offers support in the following formats: Chat, Phone Support, Knowledge Base, Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum

It has a rating of 3.5/5 for customer support on Capterra. 

Podium

Podium is mainly a reputation management platform that offers VOIP services as well. 

Podium Features 

• Individual Voicemail Inboxes to route incoming after-hour calls 
• Voicemail greeting recording 

Podium Review

Podium has an overall rating of 4.3/5 on Capterra. Here is what Podium customers have to say about the product: 

Podium Support 

Podium offers support in the following areas: Chat, Phone Support, Email/Help Desk, Knowledge Base, FAQs/Forum

Podium has a customer support rating of 4.1/5 on Capterra. 

Zoom Healthcare

The popular video conference software Zoom also provides a secure platform for healthcare communication with its Zoom Phone for Healthcare. Zoom Phone is a full-featured cloud telephony solution that is easy to use and administer. It offers some voicemail features as well. 

Zoom Healthcare Features 

• Voicemail notification 
• Voicemail Transcription 
• Secure access 
• Voicemail to email 

Zoom Healthcare Reviews 

Zoom Phone has an overall rating of 4.6/5 on Capterra. Here is what customers have to say about Zoom.

Zoom Healthcare Support 

Zoom Phone offers the following level of support: Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support, 24/7 (Live rep), Chat

Zoom Phone has a customer support rating of 4.1/5 on Capterra.

Why is Emitrr the best HIPAA-compliant Voicemail service? 

As you can gather from the table above, Emitrr has the highest rating amongst all the other platforms, is the only platform with a stellar support rating of 5/5, and offers tailored voicemail features that are HIPAA compliant. 

Here is a detailed overview of the voicemail features of Emitrr 

Voicemail Transcription 

You will be notified about it in your chat with the customer as soon as you receive a voicemail. It will look like this:  

This notification is followed by the voicemail transcription. The voicemail can be transcribed into any language of your choice. 

Voicemail Text Follow-up 

With this feature, the missed voicemail message is immediately followed by a text message. This feature ensures that you can engage the patient even if you are unable to attend to them at the moment. It’s a good way to ensure the customer that you have received their message and are going to get back to them soon. 

Secure Voicemail Storage 

All the voicemail messages that you have received can be viewed under the Voicemail section on the left navigation panel. You will find a list of the voicemail messages along with the following details corresponding to each voicemail message: 

• Phone Number 
• Date and Time
• First Name 
• Last Name 
• Email 

You will also find a text message icon that will lead you to the conversation with the patient. 

Along with the voicemail features, other things that make Emitrr stand out are 

1. Offers Security Features:Emitrr provides essential features that help safeguard patient informatio such as end-to-end encryption, access controls, audit controls, secure texting, etc.
   
2. Offers 24×7 customer support: The healthcare industry is vast, and robust and provides a very important service that is never-ending. Such a fast-paced and important industry requires software’s that have easily reachable customer support that functions 24×7. Emitrr’s support is highly rated and provides support across various channels such as chat, phone, email, forum, etc.

3. Is Reputable: When finalizing a HIPAA-compliant Voicemail services, you must look into its customer reviews as customer reviews will give you a good idea about the user experience and if the product is worth your time and money. Emitrr is rated highly by its customers!
   
4. Fits your price range: Depending upon the size of your healthcare organization you may choose an HIPAA-compliant Voicemail service. Emitrr is a very affordable option as it price range starts from $49

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