Those surveyed for the study attributed the rise in healthcare data breaches to “the sensitivity of health-related information and the large number of ‘data touch’ points, such as different healthcare employees or third parties accessing patient information.” The study revealed that almost 70 percent of providers believe that the healthcare industry is at a greater risk for data security incidents than any other industry.
So how can sensitive patient data be protected in such an environment? A key aspect of data security is encryption. Used in concert with administrative policies addressing authentication, data retention and HIPAA business associate agreements, encryption can be a powerful tool for shielding data. But what exactly is it, and how can it be implemented?
Three Reasons To Make the Switch to a Secure Messaging App like Hucu.ai
Healthcare organizations thrive on efficiency. With thousands of patients to serve, an organization can’t afford to have a lax communication strategy that would slow down processes. So why slow things down with antiquated pages and PA systems? The best Secure Messaging App in Healthcare like Hucu allows your hospital, practice or healthcare office to run at its maximum efficiency, while simultaneously delivering tangible benefits to your organization:
Increase the Security and Efficiency of Internal Communication With Hucu
Total Compliance: HIPAA mandates were amended to include the use of instant messaging technology. Hospitals and healthcare organizations that don’t comply face a $50,000 fine for a single infraction, and up to $1.5 million for repeated violations. A secure messaging app like Hucu is built with HIPAA compliance in mind, saving your organization lofty non-compliance fees.
Increased Productivity: It’s impossible to share patient information efficiently when relying on slow computers and pagers. Secure instant messaging apps like Hucu allows doctors, nurses and office personnel, even across organizations with different EHRs, to share sensitive information like patient X-rays, prescribed medications, chart and more. Hucu is a solution that deploys high-grade encryption that safely guards electronic protected health information (ePHI) during transmission.
Cost-Efficiency: Outfitting your organization with multiple devices can get expensive fast. When you implement a secure messaging app like Hucu, employees can download it directly to their personal mobile device. To guarantee everyone on staff has unhindered access to the messaging platform, Hucu is the perfect solution that is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) enabled, and is compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems.
Secure All Types of Healthcare Communication with Hucu
Three Ways a Secure Messaging App Can Help Medical Staff Improve Patient Outcomes
Apart from the three reasons why you should switch to a secure messaging application right away, there are three more ways that secure messaging can actually help you improve patient outcomes. These are the three most important benefits of secure messaging.
Increased efficiency for better patient care: a 2014 study by the Ponemon Institute showed that a lack of real-time, asynchronous communication methods had a dramatic impact on the efficiency of hospital workforces. Time was wasted during 3 of the most critical patient workflows – emergency response, admissions, and transfers. It was found that this inefficiency cost the hospital more than $1.7 million yearly.
But by applying real-time messaging services, this hospital reduced the amount of time spent on their 3 critical workflows by 57% – thereby saving money and more importantly saving time, thus allowing providers to spend more time caring for patients and driving better patient outcomes.
Fewer errors: many hospital communication structures can lead to interruptions – and errors. Pages and phone conversations often require a task to be interrupted, and errors caused by interruptions are one of the leading causes of death in clinical settings. A dedicated messaging app like Hucu provides clear, focused, real-time communication – but eliminates the need for an immediate response by giving an option. This allows doctors, nurses, and staff to communicate more effectively, but avoid interruptions that could lead to potentially life-threatening errors.
Shorter hospital stays: a study conducted in Philadelphia showed that secure messaging applications allowed hospitals to treat patients more effectively, and reduce the overall time they stayed in the hospital by around 14%. This means that hospitals can provide better patient outcomes, save money on their bottom line, and free up more beds for patients who are in need.
These 3 benefits alone can result in huge cost-savings, massively increased hospital capacity, and a better overall level of patient care.
If you’re interested in the benefits of a secure, HIPAA compliant secure messaging system, Hucu.ai is a perfect choice. We provide rapid, secure, documented text-based communication to hospitals, and our cloud-based technology ensures that you always have access to our services when you need them the most. We help you gain all the benefits of secure communication in healthcare while increasing your processes efficiency.
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