It can be difficult to narrow down the many options available when you are shopping for a medical answering service for your business. Of course, it is important to assure that your patients are met with a professional and capable voice when you are not available to assist them, and it is vital that you know that your patient's specific medical issues are being attended to with the same kind of care and professionalism that you would provide them.
This it why it is of utmost importance that when you are shopping for an answering service, to verify that all of the telephone operators that are answering your patient's calls have been through the HIPAA training procedure, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. For the record, providing this training for anyone who interacts with a patient in any respect, including the simple act of answering a telephone call and relaying a message, is required. All operators must go through this training process to assure the security of information about your patients. This is the law, and your call center should be abiding by it.
The HIPAA training is in place partially to ensure the privacy of medical patients, which is how it relates to medical call centers. Because answering service operators are sometimes privy to potentially sensitive personal medical information about a patient, it is important that they are equipped to understand the laws regarding keeping that information private.
Also, when selecting an answering service, pay attention to the fact that some companies use home-based telephone operators, which creates a situation where it can be difficult to assure that the HIPAA training is being adhered to. On a similar note, it's advisable to be aware that there are also some call centers that use freeware computer software and free Internet email services such as Google and AOL, both of which could potentially result in major confidentiality breaches.
By confirming that the medical answering service you are using is properly abiding by the law and making sure that all of their employees regularly receive HIPAA training, you are one step ahead in maintaining the care and privacy of your patients.
If you're unsure about the rules of engagement of your current call center, ask. A quality answering service should be happy to provide you with verification of their privacy guidelines and an outline of their training procedures. Your patients will be happy to know that you're active in protecting their privacy.
