Getting a text from your doctor might help you recover faster following surgery, a new study suggests. But such communications, it turns out, may not be legal under HIPAA.
In a story published in the Omaha World-Herald, Dr. Roshni Rao of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said texting may have helped women who underwent breast reconstruction following a mastectomy better adhere to medical advice by providing an easy, speedy means of communicating.
Over a period of about a month, women who exchanged texts with their surgeon about the fluid output of their drain made significantly fewer clinic visits and phone calls compared to a control group, according to the study, published in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Text messaging also reduced the number of days the drain was needed.
“The biggest thing is, this is how people communicate now,” Rao told the Omaha World-Herald. “The medical establishment needs to find ways to use this technology with appropriate boundaries and in the right situations.”
Despite the potential advantages of texts between patients and providers, it may be a violation of HIPAA and subject to a fine if it occurs over standard text messaging systems, said Dr. Michael Nasbaum, who developed an app called MedXCom Patient to facilitate communication about patient care.
“Any text messaging between providers and patients must take place over a secure system in which the messages are encrypted and the system is secure and HIPAA compliant,” Nusbaum told the Omaha World-Herald.
Indeed, a recent article in Becker’s Hospital Review notes that “as the possibilities for electronic communication continue to expand with great speed, use of the technology by hospital employees and physicians without adequate security can expose your facility to HIPAA violations. The increasing use of cell phones and texting as an alternative to voice conversations or e-mail presents real risks for security failures leading to HIPAA violations.”
Rao, the author of the texting study, agreed privacy is a concern but said the legalities are not clear because HIPAA has not kept pace with technology.