Healthcare Trusts Net2Phone’s Reliability and UC Solutions

net2phone is participating in a HIPAA compatibility program. Our HIPAA-eligible services help our healthcare customers promote safe and secure interactions with patients and employees.

Why is HIPAA so Important?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a federal law mandating the creation of national standards that safeguard sensitive patient health information from disclosure without a patient's consent or knowledge. 

2020 was the year the world seemed to grind to a halt. People spent most of their time at home. Communication went virtual, and VoIP phone systems for healthcare practices allowed them to stay in touch with patients and employees and reduce communication costs. However, all sensitive information, whether financial or health-related, was transmitted by email or phone. The federal government protects this information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 

Nonetheless, hackers saw an opportunity in the midst of a pandemic and aggressively attacked data gatekeepers, causing quite a disruption for healthcare providers. The largest breach of healthcare records happened when hackers infiltrated a service provider's system and accessed millions of records. 

This is why providing HIPAA complaint phone service is so important to us. Patient information is highly confidential. During this lock-down period, non-emergency visits to the hospital were no longer an option. If ever there was a time for hospitals to have a unified communications system, 2020 was it. Anytime information has to leave a secure network, a vulnerability is exposed. 

What Does This Mean for Healthcare Providers?

As experts in unified communications and a leading UCaaS provider, we recognize the importance of data security and are proud to be identified as a reliable partner of healthcare providers. 

Related: What is UCaaS?

Our features, including call recording, can host sensitive information. HIPAA assures our clients that information passed between their patients and employees is safe and secure. In addition to the security protocols we have in place, HIPAA requires us to do the following:

1. Ensure that we have on record policies on the handling of the information deemed to be sensitive.
2. Sign a business associate agreement (BAA) in addition to a contract to ensure compliance and protect our clients.
3. Conduct HIPAA training for our staff.
4. Regularly review our policies to comply with HIPAA updates.

The security of information has always been our highest priority. Without it, our promise of seamless communication across continents would not be possible. For our non-healthcare clients, HIPAA compatibility provides extra assurance that we treat information with the highest confidentiality.

Protecting sensitive data is something we have done for years. This means that we will execute a BAA with our healthcare clients ensuring that we will protect their PHI and help them maintain their HIPAA compliance.

We are always ready to tell you more information on net2phone's VOIP and UCaaS services. Just let us know.