Any customer communication that includes protected information comes with a litany of compliance requirements. Any document with PII (personally identifiable information) or PHI (protected health information) falls into this category. As they are unique, you’ll need specific print and mail solutions to remain compliant.
There are significant opportunities to improve accuracy, quality, and compliance with the right partner. So, what should you expect from a transactional print and mail provider? Keep reading to find out.
What Are Print and Mail Solutions for Protected Customer Communications?
In this segment of customer mailings, those with protected information can include everything from monthly statements to insurance policy documents to healthcare EOBs (explanation of benefits).
They are ” protected ” because each letter has a compliance requirement. You must ensure the security of their information and have processes in place to manage the risk of mis-mailings. You may also be under specific time constraints to send the information to customers, such as the requirements in the No Surprises Act for healthcare.
As a result, workflows and security parameters must be in place. Due to this, you should really only outsource to a provider that is 100% focused on producing transactional communications.
Services and Capabilities for Outsourcing Protected Mailings
The number of commercial printers and direct mailers are vast, but only a fraction are dedicated to compliance-related communications. Among these providers, there are variances in what they offer. You may not even be aware of some things because they are only available from high-volume operations.
At a minimum, you want to work with an organization that offers these things.
Equipment and Operational Efficiency
Look for a partner with an advanced and modern operational framework with these attributes:
- Intelligent insertion machines for accuracy
- High-speed inkjet printers for quality
- Sophisticated workflows that are repeatable across operators, shifts, and locations
- The White Paper Factory (WPF) method, which marries fully digitally composed files with in-line print production and intelligent insertion for dynamic printing on each document
The Best Postage Rates
Seek a print and mail company that has postage optimization strategies in place, such as:
- Address hygiene tools to reduce waste from inaccurate or duplicate addresses
- High-volume presorting
- Usage of the USPS IMb (Intelligent Mail Barcode) to receive the best automation rate
- Commingling like groups for mailing
- Recommendations for standardization of mail sizes
Business Continuity and Uptime
Disasters can strike in the real and cyber world. If your print and mail solutions provider doesn’t have a well-defined business continuity protocol, you could be in trouble. One of the best ways to reduce downtime risk is working with a company that has geographically diverse locations. Additionally, they should have a disaster recovery plan to keep operations up and running.
Visibility into Jobs and Real-Time Data
What happens after you submit your files to the printer? It’s just the beginning of the process, but if you don’t have access to this, you’ll be in the dark. The most trusted transactional print companies offer this through a secure online document management portal. By logging in, you can view:
- The entire lifecycle of a job, from start to delivery
- Tracking of each letter through the mailstream
- Reports on any metric or data point
- The ability to request changes to your documents
- Daily confirmation reports
- Running totals for postage
- Audit trails necessary to demonstrate compliance
A Commitment to Compliance Beyond the Minimum
Many print and mail companies can say they comply with specific regulations but may be doing the minimum. For example, an organization can state they are HIPAA compliant, which is a necessity, but only some earn HITRUST certification. HITRUST goes beyond HIPAA requirements.
Additionally, you want to ensure that compliance is part of their foundation. If it is, they’ll have dedicated compliance experts on staff. They’ll also be able to tell you how they meet and exceed compliance obligations. It must be part of their everyday processes and decision-making.
A Continuous Pursuit of Accuracy
What happens if the wrong customer gets a statement? It could put you in danger of noncompliance with fines and complaints. Accuracy is something a print and mail solutions provider must take seriously, leveraging both technology and processes.
The best way to ensure accuracy is by using intelligent insertion equipment and barcode scanning of each document to verify what goes inside each envelope. Rigorous controls, quality assurance protocols, and consistency are pivotal to this. By combining all these things, we have an industry-leading accuracy rate of 99.9999%.
Your Transactional Print and Solutions Provider Should Be a Partner, Not a Vendor
In the world of promotional communications, almost any printer can get the job done. With transactional, the relationship should be deeper. They are acting as an extension of your company to deliver accurate, high-quality, and compliant customer communications.
This is our approach. We learn your workflows and offer expert recommendations to improve them. You’ll enjoy dedicated resources for implementation and onboarding. We’re always improving, refining, and innovating to deliver the best print and mail solutions.
Learn how we can be your partner by scheduling a free consultation.
