Approximately 133 Americans, representing 40% of the population, suffer from chronic health conditions. These diseases often require long-term therapies, medications, frequent doctor visits, and other health-related activities. The outcome of many of these is a communication from providers and insurance companies, which must follow compliance guidelines like any other HIPAA letters.

This type of correspondence falls under HIPAA because it includes Protected Health Information (PHI). It’s one more healthcare-related transactional print and mail subcategory, requiring senders to follow very specific steps regarding the handling of the PHI. If your organization is responsible for these HIPAA letters, you’ll want to understand the options you have for outsourcing.

PCI Group has established rigid protocols and surpassed industry compliance standards to protect our clients sensitive information.

Can You Trust Outsourcing HIPAA Letters Related to Chronic Conditions and Treatment Plans?

Trust is critical in healthcare communications. So how do you build it with a partner and have assurance? First, you’ll want to do your due diligence and understand how their printing process works, the equipment they use, their quality, their experience, and certifications.

While there are many options to outsource print and mail, not every vendor will meet your requirements. Accuracy isn’t just nice to have in this type of printing. It’s mandatory, and any breaches could result in fines or lawsuits. You may think a figure like 99% accuracy is good enough. Unfortunately, it’s not and still leaves you exposed to risk. The highest accuracy is one in a million errors, which you can find with the right HIPAA compliant and certified organization.

The procedures to look for include:

  • Controlled access to the facility.
  • Advanced equipment that tracks every piece of paper ensures that it’s inserted into the right envelope, with barcode scanning and camera recording.
  • Six Sigma Quality process
  • Dedicated compliance officers.
  • Data security that protects sensitive communication during transit with firewalls, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), and encryption.

In addition to HIPAA certification, you’ll want to find a partner that has HITRUST certification. This means that the organization is following the most robust protocols regarding cybersecurity and verifies the adherence to HIPAA regulations.

hipaa letters outsourcingOutsourcing Has More Benefits

Compliance is certainly at the top of the list when considering outsourcing HIPAA letters. With the right partner, you can derive even more benefits.

Reduce Costs Even with Rising Volume

The volume of this type of communication will likely only rise as more people receive a diagnosis. Additionally, new chronic diseases, like those related to COVID-19, are becoming part of the medical ecosystem.

Patients battling such illnesses receive many more communications from providers and insurance companies. You may be sending these out individually currently, but batching them using sophisticated technology could reduce your overall costs. That’s the opportunity you have by selecting a partner with advanced print and mail capabilities.

You can also find savings in postage and materials.

Improve the Quality and Messaging of Letters

Chronic condition and treatment patient communications include important information. But is it easy to understand for the receiver? Could improving the print quality help patients better understand their obligations?

With a professional print and mail partner, you have no limitations on the design of your letters and can move to full color. Further, you can leverage the white paper factory approach, which enables dynamic printing. White paper goes in, and inkjet printing technology does the rest. The advantage is that you can input more personalized information in individual letters regarding that specific disease. This works much better than adding in inserts and keeps costs down as well.

Compliant, Accurate, and High-Quality HIPAA Letters

Healthcare communications have special requirements regarding compliance and accuracy. Choosing to outsource with a trusted partner keeps these in check while also offering cost savings, improved quality, and more personalized messaging. That’s the experience you’ll get with PCI Group. Our decades of experience, technology, and processes allow us to meet all our healthcare clients’ needs. Learn more about our outsourcing solutions today.