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Posts Tagged ‘digital transformation’

Send Secure Emails: Alternatives to Web Portals

Tuesday, December 5th, 2023

Digital technologies have entirely shifted how individuals want to interact with their healthcare providers. As consumers have become used to emailing or texting with their hairstylists, mechanics, and other providers to schedule appointments, they want to have the same level of interaction with their healthcare providers.

However, many healthcare organizations find it challenging to deliver the same experience because of their compliance requirements under HIPAA. They must balance usability and access with security and patient privacy. To send secure emails, they often resort to secure web portals. 

Problems with Secure Web Portals

One of the most common ways that healthcare organizations communicate securely with patients is by using the secure web portal method of email encryption. In this scenario, messages are sent to a secure web server, and a notification is sent to the recipient, who then logs into the portal to retrieve the message.

While highly secure, this method is not popular with recipients because of the friction it creates.

To maintain a high level of security, users must log in to a separate account to retrieve the message. This extra step creates a barrier, especially for individuals who are not tech-savvy. In addition to creating a new account, they must remember a different username and password to access their secure messages. If the recipient doesn’t have this information readily available, they will likely delete the message and move on with their day. Many users will never bother logging in because of the inconvenience. This creates issues for organizations that want to use email for standard business communications and patient engagement efforts. 

While this method may be appropriate for sending highly sensitive information like medical records, financial documents, and other valuable information, many emails that must meet compliance requirements only infer sensitive information and do not require such a high level of security. Flu shot reminder emails are not as sensitive or potentially devastating as sending the wrong medical file to someone. Healthcare organizations need to use secure email solutions that are flexible enough to send only the most sensitive emails to the portal and less sensitive emails using other methods.

How to Meet Compliance Requirements for Sending Secure Email

So, what other options do you have for sending secure emails? The answer will depend on what specific requirements you need to meet. Healthcare organizations that must abide by HIPAA regulations will find a lot of flexibility regarding the technologies they can use to protect ePHI in transit.

In addition to a secure web portal, three other types of encryption are suitable for email sending: TLS, PGP, and S/MIME. PGP and S/MIME are more secure than a web portal. They also require advanced technological skills and coordination with the end-user to implement, which makes them impractical for most business email sending.

That leaves us with TLS, which is suitable to meet most compliance standards (including HIPAA) and delivers an email experience much like that of a “regular” email.

Send Secure Emails with TLS Encryption

TLS encryption is an excellent option for secure email sending that provides a seamless experience for the recipient. Emails sent securely with TLS appear like regular, unencrypted emails in the recipient’s inbox.

TLS encrypts the message contents as they travel between mail servers to prevent interception and eavesdropping. Once the message reaches the inbox, it is unencrypted and can be read by anyone with access to the email account. For this reason, it is less secure than a portal but secure enough to meet compliance requirements like HIPAA.

If you’re wondering why this is, HIPAA only requires covered entities and business associates to protect PHI when it is stored on their systems or as it is transmitted elsewhere. After the message reaches the recipient, it is up to the recipient to decide what they want to do to secure the information. HIPAA does not apply to individuals. Each person is entitled to share and store their health information however they see fit.

Conclusion

Balancing security and usability is a significant challenge for healthcare organizations. If the message is too secure, it may be difficult for the recipient to open and engage with it. If it’s not secure enough, it is too easy for cybercriminals and other bad actors to intercept private information as it is sent across the internet. 

Choosing an email provider like LuxSci, which offers flexible email encryption options, allows users to choose the right level of encryption for each message to maximize engagement and improve health outcomes. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can support your efforts.

Tags: digital transformation, email, email encryption, email security, patient engagement, patient experience, secure web portal, tls, tls encryption
Posted in Email
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Prevent Patient No-Shows with Automated Appointment Reminders

Tuesday, September 6th, 2022

Missed medical appointments are not only bad for your business, but they can also negatively impact patient health outcomes. You can improve attendance and health outcomes without adding to administrative overhead by automating appointment reminders and customizing them according to patient preferences.

auto appointment reminders

Why Implement Automated Appointment Reminders

There are many reasons to introduce automated appointment reminders. People are busy, and many rely on digital calendars to stay organized. Many businesses outside the healthcare industry use digital appointment reminders to improve attendance and make scheduling and rescheduling appointments as easy as possible.

Changing Consumer Preferences

Most (88%) of customers said receiving automated appointment reminders via phone and text is important to them, according to a CVS Health survey. The rapid digitization of the healthcare system due to the Covid-19 pandemic has led patients to expect a healthcare experience that fits into their lifestyles. Reminders for haircuts, car appointments, and other personal care services are extremely common, and people expect that from their healthcare providers. In addition, communication preferences are changing. Very few people answer phone calls from unknown numbers. Instead, the majority of patients prefer less intrusive email and text reminders.

Improved Health Outcomes for Patients

As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Skipping appointments or delaying care puts patients at risk of developing more serious illnesses. Catching conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer early drastically improves prognoses and allows for less expensive and intrusive interventions. Most people don’t intend to skip medical appointments, but life happens. Sending timely appointment reminders before the visit gives overbooked individuals an opportunity to reschedule without a potentially costly missed appointment.

Reduced Administrative Overhead

If your administrative staff members are tasked with making phone calls to confirm appointments, automated reminders can allow them to prioritize other tasks associated with patient care. Keeping the phone lines open to help care for patients with urgent questions improves the patient experience and keeps staff members engaged.

How to Implement Automated Appointment Reminders

Most automated reminders are sent via email, text messaging, or phone calls. We recommend surveying your patient population to find out which communication methods they prefer. By sending the message according to their preference, it increases the likelihood that they will see it and respond appropriately.

Once that is determined, use a tool like LuxSci’s Secure High Volume Email or Secure Texting to integrate with your CRM or EHR and set up trigger points and reminder templates that pull information from the database. For example, maybe you find that five business days before the appointment is the best time to send the reminder. Patients need to have enough time to read the notification and reschedule if necessary. When the appointment is five days away, a message is automatically sent to the patient reminding them of the appointment. Ideally, this message will also include rescheduling options.

One caveat- notice that we mentioned “secure” email and texting. Appointment reminders imply information about health conditions and are PHI that is protected under HIPAA regulations. These messages must be encrypted and follow other HIPAA requirements for access controls, audit logs, and more. Review our HIPAA Compliance Checklist for more information.

Tags: appointment reminders, digital health, digital transformation, high volume email, operational efficiency, patient engagement, secure texting, Transactional email
Posted in Business Solutions, Email Marketing
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Personalize Healthcare Communications to Improve the Patient Experience

Tuesday, August 16th, 2022

Recent survey results from CVS Health indicate that healthcare patients desire a more personalized healthcare experience. Over the last ten years, the online experience has become highly customized. Online vendors have more customer data and use it to extend personalized offers, reminders, and updates. Although people are concerned about online privacy, they are more likely to open and engage with relevant marketing communications.

As the healthcare industry has undergone digital transformation, more data is available in a digital format. But how and when can it be used? This article discusses how to use patient data to personalize healthcare communications without violating HIPAA requirements.

personalize healthcare communications

What is Healthcare Personalization?

Personalized health care places individuals at the center of the health care experience. Health care is a complex issue, and one system does not work for everyone. A person’s health status is influenced by many factors, including genetics, age, environment, social determinants, income, and countless others. A health care program that considers as many of these variables as possible can better address patient needs and increase access to care.

Why Personalize Healthcare Communications

Patients understand that their healthcare providers manage a lot of their personal data and want a personalized experience that respects their preferences. As audience segmentation and personalization techniques become more common in other industries like e-commerce and personal care, consumers expect the same experiences from their health care providers.

For example, say you order a jug of laundry detergent on Amazon. They can use common consumer data in combination with your last order date to estimate when you are likely to run out. Then, they can send an email reminder to encourage a reorder before you run out again. In a similar manner, healthcare providers should know when someone’s prescription is running low and could send a notification to let the patient they need to refill and help improve medication adherence.

A recent survey by CVS Health found that 85% of patients find personalized care to be important. In fact, 83% expect their primary care provider to be aware of their family medical history, genetics and inherited lifestyle habits. 71% of consumers said it was very or somewhat important to their health that they have customized alerts and reminders of screenings and checkups. This is even more common among patients under 40. The next generation of healthcare consumers expects their healthcare to fit seamlessly into their normal lives.

Ways to Personalize the Healthcare Experience

There are many ways to personalize the healthcare experience, but they all depend on the available data. An easy way to start is by asking for patient preferences. Some common ways to personalize healthcare communications include collecting information about patient preferences:

  • Communication methods: How do they prefer to be contacted? Ask patients their preferred channels- email, texting, phone, and paper notifications are standard options.
  • Language proficiency: Is English their first language? If not, send communications in the person’s primary language.
  • Patient status: Are they active patients or overdue for regular screenings and appointments?

Looking at these attributes can help craft messages that appeal to patient subgroups.

The next level of personalization uses protected health information (PHI) to deliver extremely customized healthcare communications. The possibilities are truly endless, but here are a few examples to spark some ideas:

  • Medical conditions: use information about patient medical conditions to send highly targeted communications about managing or preventing chronic conditions like depression, diabetes, and heart conditions.
  • Screening reminders: Remind patients when they are due for mammograms, colonoscopies, or other screenings that are ordered based on age or risk factors.
  • Patient retention and re-engagement: Did a patient skip their annual appointment or screening? Make it easy to reschedule by sending periodic reminders.
  • Insurance status: send relevant communications based on the patient’s insurance status. For example, letting healthcare marketplace insurance holders know about re-enrollment periods to ensure they don’t drop their coverage.

Personalization provides a customizable healthcare experience for patients that eliminates friction and barriers to care. Using personalization to create educational campaigns can also help improve health outcomes. See How to Use ePHI to Segment and Personalize Email Marketing Campaigns for more information.

HIPAA Considerations in Customizable Healthcare

One reason that healthcare has been slow to adopt personalization techniques is HIPAA. These guidelines protect sensitive medical information and govern how it can be used. To send personalized messages like the examples discussed above, HIPAA guidelines must be followed. Some of the core requirements for sending HIPAA-compliant emails include:

  • Encryption
  • Access Controls
  • Backups and Archival
  • Anti-Malware Defenses
  • Identity Authorization
  • Reporting Mechanisms
  • Review Procedures and Policies

See our HIPAA-Compliant Email Checklist for more information about the requirements.

LuxSci offers several solutions for sending HIPAA-compliant personalized messages. Contact us today to learn more about our Secure High Volume Email and Secure Marketing tools.

Tags: digital transformation, email marketing, ePHI, HIPAA email, patient engagement, patient experience, personalization, segmentation
Posted in Email Marketing
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What is a Digital Front Door?

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

Patient engagement is a growing concern in today’s healthcare ecosystem. As many providers transitioned to telehealth during the pandemic, the concept of a “digital front door” evolved to describe how patients interact digitally with healthcare providers.

digital front door

Definition

The term “digital front door” describes an omnichannel engagement strategy that leverages technology to meet the needs of modern healthcare consumers.

With many people using online searches and digital tools to find new care providers, the term describes how patients first interact with a healthcare provider online. It represents how the patient journey is changing in response to consumer needs.

Just a few years ago, the design of a medical office was considered extremely important to the patient’s experience. Focusing on the digital front door refers to creating a positive digital experience for patients navigating a healthcare provider’s website, patient portals, and other online touchpoints.

Why utilize a digital front door?

There are many reasons to optimize the digital experience. Changing consumer preferences, healthcare staffing issues, and potential cost savings are just a few reasons healthcare practices are turning to digital solutions.

According to a study from Cedar, 41% of patients reported that they would consider changing providers for a better digital experience. Younger adults are four times more likely to switch than those over 65. Making it easy for people to schedule appointments, check symptoms, and refill prescriptions online can increase patient satisfaction and retention.

In addition, the ongoing healthcare staffing shortage is making it difficult for staff to spend time engaging with patients. Implementing digital engagement tools can empower patients to take control of their healthcare tasks and relieve operational burdens on staff members.

The prevalence of electronic health records means that patients can access, read, and add to their records through a well-designed patient portal. Using online intake forms, email messaging, and surveys can streamline processes and save time and money for healthcare practices.

The Benefits of Digital Front Doors

Some of the key benefits of properly designed and implemented digital front doors include:

  • Reduced patient wait times
  • Ability to interact with the healthcare system outside of regular business hours
  • Improved access and visibility into patient’s health records
  • Less paperwork and administrative waste
  • Reduced administrative costs
  • Focus on providing quality care compared to administrative tasks
  • Improved coordination and transparency between care teams
  • Improved feedback collection processes

What types of technology are involved?

No one specific technology is required to create an effective digital front door. Instead, different technologies are combined to create a positive user experience that matches the patient journey and meets the organization’s needs. Some of the technologies typically involved include:

  • Chatbots
  • Online appointment scheduling
  • Physician finder tools
  • Online intake forms
  • Personalized and automated email communications
  • Secure texting
  • Patient portals
  • Automated surveys

Of course, it’s not just about the technology involved but how it works together to meet the patient’s needs. Implementing tools that are difficult to use, don’t integrate, and are frustrating to patients will not deliver results.

An Example

Let’s use an example to illustrate how patients interact with a digital front door. Josh just moved to the area and is looking for a new primary care provider that accepts his insurance and is close to where he lives. He does a Google search and finds a provider with good reviews located only 0.5 miles away.

Josh goes to their website and uses a physician finder tool to search through the provider’s network of physicians to find one who accepts his insurance and is taking new patients.

Once Josh finds someone who is a good fit, he signs up to be a new patient and fills out a digital intake form. On the website’s back end, the provider automatically captures and stores these details in a secure, HIPAA-compliant database.

Josh then schedules an appointment online. He receives an automatic confirmation email, and a few days before the appointment, he also receives an email reminder.

On the day of his appointment, Josh can immediately see his physician because he has already filled out the intake forms online. The physician takes notes electronically during the appointment and refills Josh’s prescription. All this information is automatically added to his medical records. Before leaving the doctor’s office, a staff member helps Josh schedule a follow-up appointment for a few months later.

The same day, Josh receives a text message that his prescription has been filled and is ready for pickup at his local pharmacy. A week after the appointment, Josh receives an email asking about his experience and whether he has any follow-up questions for the physician. Thanks to the thoughtful use of technology, Josh was highly satisfied with his experience.

Conclusion

In today’s world, a solid online presence is not optional. Creating thoughtful online user experiences is essential to improving patient and provider interactions.

Tags: appointment reminders, digital front door, digital transformation, healthcare consumerism, online forms, patient engagement, patient experience
Posted in Business Solutions, Telehealth
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Accelerating Digital Health Transformation

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of the health care industry. Telehealth and virtual care delivery rapidly took off out of necessity, but this shift has been coming for a long time. Changing consumer preferences and new technologies are leading healthcare systems to pursue digital transformation.

digital health transformation

What is Digital Health Transformation?

According to HIMSS, “Digital health connects and empowers people and populations to manage health and wellness, augmented by accessible and supportive provider teams working within flexible, integrated, interoperable and digitally enabled care environments that strategically leverage digital tools, technologies and services to transform care delivery.”

Digital health transformation involves using a variety of technologies to improve the patient’s journey throughout the healthcare system. Transformation often starts with the implementation of electronic health records, but it doesn’t stop there. A survey of health care technology executives conducted by Deloitte, found that 92% wanted to achieve better consumer satisfaction and engagement from digital transformation.

Other goals that organizations seek to address with digital transformation include:

  • improving patient satisfaction and engagement
  • improving patient health outcomes
  • ability to compete with disrupters and alternatives
  • increasing revenue growth
  • improving cost efficiency
  • increasing agility and scalability
  • improving employee satisfaction

Why Pursue Digital Transformation in Healthcare?

Consumer preferences are driving changes to the healthcare industry. Today, consumers can order goods online with same-day delivery. There is transparency throughout the order, shipping, and delivery process. People are used to having instant access to consumer goods, and are starting to expect the same experience from their healthcare providers.

The healthcare system is notoriously slow and inefficient. Patients are used to waiting weeks or months for appointments and often have difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Provider referrals, prescription refills, and accessing medical records and lab results can be confusing. Digital transformation allows health care organizations to incorporate technology to meet patient expectations and improve their experiences.

Generational attitudes are also changing the healthcare industry. Younger populations are more likely to switch healthcare providers if their communication preferences are not met. A 2019 study found that patients aged 18 to 24 are three times as likely (61%) to consider switching providers over a poor digital experience compared to the over-65 population (21%).

In addition, the healthcare industry is also dealing with staffing shortages. Many organizations are looking for technology that can automate processes and alleviate administrative burdens, allowing providers to spend more time on patient care.

How to Digitally Transform the Healthcare System

It goes without saying that digital transformation is a long process that requires a clear strategy. After the pandemic-induced changes, many healthcare organizations are now stepping back to define their budget and strategy. A Deloitte survey found that 52% of organizations surveyed still had more than three years remaining on their implementation strategy. An additional 20% were still in the planning stage.

Introducing new technology without a clear purpose or strategy should be avoided. A poorly executed transition can lead to clinician burnout, a poor patient experience, and negative business outcomes.

The possibilities for digital health transformation are endless. For some organizations, transformation could include incorporating technologies like:

  • telehealth
  • AI and clinical decision making
  • Big data and predictive healthcare
  • Virtual reality
  • Wearable medical devices that feed data to a patient’s health record
  • Blockchain data custody

The technology options are endless, but it’s important to focus on organizational goals. For example, putting healthcare records on the blockchain sounds trendy and cool, but it is a major project that requires, planning, IT support, and funding. If the organization’s goal is to improve the patient experience, moving patient data from an EHR to the blockchain may not meet that goal. Instead, organizations should create a list of priorities and explore how different technologies help solve those problems. Perhaps enhancing patient portal messaging would improve the patient experience more than a move to the blockchain.

Conclusion

Many healthcare organizations are pursuing digital health transformation to better serve their patients. When implementing any new technology, it’s important to thoroughly vet options. Switching technology vendors can be even more difficult than implementing a new solution. Make sure that any third-party vendor can implement the solution without sacrificing security and compliance.

Tags: digital health, digital transformation, Health Information Technology, patient engagement
Posted in Industry News, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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