HIPAA-compliant print and mail outsource partner

For healthcare organizations, compliance to regulatory standards is always a priority.  Patient communications and data are no different and must adhere to HIPAA guidelines. For those organizations working with print and mail services, there’s no substitute for a HIPAA-compliant print and mail outsource partner.

Your priorities are to determine if a provider has advanced data security and privacy controls in place. You also want to ensure that they are HIPAA compliant in these protocols. Additionally, HITRUST certification is also important.

So, what are the benefits you can realize when working with a print and mail outsource partner that’s HIPAA compliant?

Many of today’s successful companies are moving away from staffing non-core business functions and shifting their resources to take advantage of what they do best—focusing on their business.

Compliance Is Their Expertise

HIPAA, enacted in 1996, has changed through the years to accommodate for new practices and requirements. When you work with a transactional print and mail company, regulated communication is all they do.

They’ll always be up to date in their knowledge and practices. Most have a compliance director on staff to manage all regulatory updates. It’s their job to be compliant and often go way beyond the minimum requirements of the law.

Tracking Each Letter Throughout the Workflow

You can still have 360-degree visibility when outsourcing healthcare communications. Your service provider should allow you to monitor the status of every job from the time you send the data until the letter reaches the consumer.

Having this capability and easy-to-understand dashboards helps healthcare organizations gain even greater peace of mind about compliance.

Data Security Ensures Protection

A print and mail company that’s handling patient communications doesn’t cut corners on data security. It’s imperative that they use a multi-faceted approach to protect data. Their protocols will surpass what a typical print and mail house offers.

When comparing outsourced partners and ranking their data security, look for:

  • User-level security to ensure only approved users can access data.
  • Advanced firewall security to block unauthorized network access.
  • Intrusion prevention systems (IPSs) detect traffic that could be harmful and ensure it doesn’t intrude.
  • Data transmission security while in transit and at rest.
  • Physical security with access control so that only those that should be in the space are.

Omnichannel Communication Options

A HIPAA-compliant print and mail provider should also offer multiple channels to communicate. Providing a secure, compliant email channel for invoices and patient letters is a must-have for outsourcing. All these communications are in a central hub, and you can receive notifications upon delivery.

Secure communication is only one component. You’ll find it much more convenient with other features that allow you to send receipts via email to patients. It’s a cost-effective option that helps you meet customer expectations on the channels they prefer.

HIPAA print and mail auditAlways Audit-Ready

Should your organization need to respond to an audit by the OCR (Office for Civil Rights), you’ll want a partner with superior reporting capabilities. You should be able to have complete details of every letter and its mailing and delivery to substantiate your compliance.

Noncompliance Jeopardizes Your Finances and Reputation

Unfortunately, many healthcare organizations have paid the price for noncompliance. The penalties for this range from $100 per violation to up to $50,000, depending on the severity of the violation. Such a penalty could be disastrous for any business.

On top of that, there’s reputational harm. HIPAA breaches routinely make headlines and impact patients. Such an incident could cause those individuals to seek other providers or insurance companies. Additionally, it could cause partners or vendors to discontinue business with you because they’re no longer confident in your security methods.

The best way to avoid this is to work with a HIPAA-compliant print and mail outsource partner that checks all the boxes of the benefits noted above. In concert with that, look at reviews, testimonials, and other proof that they are well-versed in healthcare communication compliance measures.

Enjoy Compliance, Security, and More with PCI Group

As a transactional printer, compliant mailings are all we do. As a result, we have compliance, security, and accuracy as the pillars of our operations. Learn more about how we serve the healthcare industry today.