Benefits of a HIPAA-Compliant Virtual Receptionist

One of the most vulnerable locations for a data breach in the office is the reception desk. After all, everybody who comes into the office spends at least a few minutes at the reception desk. And even with strict policies in place to prevent data breaches, somebody might still see some information they aren’t supposed to.

 Maybe the receptionist’s screen was briefly in view when she opens the daily schedule, maybe they wrote down a note or a patient’s message for the doctor on a piece of paper right by the phone, or perhaps there are a few recently received faxes just waiting to be picked up at the fax machine.

Although these may seem to be harmless situations, for a strict Office of Civil Rights auditor these might be considered serious offenses and may lead to you getting a hefty fine.

In order to avoid inadvertently leaking patient data, the best thing to do is to keep all information completely sealed off at all times. But the fact remains that this task is almost impossible with a traditional receptionist, no matter how careful they might be. 

A better way to go about keeping your patients’ information private is to hire a HIPAA-compliant virtual receptionist service. 

Here are a few of the benefits that a HIPAA-compliant virtual receptionist can bring to your business:

1. Appointment scheduling

A HIPAA-compliant virtual receptionist can schedule all of your patients’ appointments right on your calendar. Whenever a patient calls your number, your virtual receptionist can easily help them set an appointment with you and your team. 

2. Outbound appointment reminders

Your virtual receptionist can call your patients to remind them about their upcoming appointment. This can be customized to your preference, whether a few days before or the day of the appointment, your virtual receptionists can confirm with your patients and make any modifications to the schedule if needed. 

3. Call screening and forwarding

All your incoming calls will be screened to filter out spam calls, robocalls, etc. This protects your valuable time, and helps you concentrate on providing stellar healthcare for your patients. Additionally your virtual receptionist is able to forward calls when necessary. 

4. Customer service

Virtual receptionists are specially trained to provide stellar customer service to all callers, helping them efficiently to find an answer to all their questions. This will help you not only keep your current patients happy, but will also help attract new business. 

Because all of these services are performed away from your clinic or office, you can be completely sure that all your patients’ data is safe from all leaks. 

About Andrés Sanjose

Andrés Sanjose is a writer and editor based in Guatemala. He previously lived in Berlin for 10 years where he witnessed the birth and amazing evolution of the Virtual Office phenomenon, while working as a freelancer in the german capital. He is very interested in what the future holds for this exciting industry and loves to write about it.