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LuxSci and StepAhead Partner to Protect Patient Data

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

Boston, MA- November 2022 – LuxSci, a provider of HIPAA-compliant email services, is pleased to announce a new partnership with StepAhead, a software company focused on protecting healthcare data. By partnering with LuxSci, StepAhead helps healthcare technology organizations protect sensitive data so they can utilize it in ways that do not compromise patient privacy.

“LuxSci is thrilled to work with StepAhead. Their unique approach to data security and patient privacy is a perfect complement to LuxSci’s email encryption technology. By partnering with StepAhead, we can support our enterprise technology customers as they develop the solutions that will change the future of healthcare delivery for the better,” said Heather Clark, Vice President of Partnerships at LuxSci.

The healthcare ecosystem is rapidly changing, and digital innovation is essential to serve the needs of patients. However, digital tools introduce risk to sensitive data like protected health information. The partnership allows LuxSci and StepAhead to help healthcare technology companies address the complex data security and compliance questions that arise during digital transformation.

“The synergies between our two companies and the complementary security solutions we offer, provide a powerful combination for healthcare organizations. LuxSci owns the space where movement of sensitive data is a necessary business process by applying their encryption technology to keep that data safe. StepAhead provides tools to further leverage that data, in an anonymized form with the highest level of utility, so it can be distributed freely without fear of breach. This helps expand the value of the sensitive data without increasing the risk profile for all situations where the original sensitive data is not necessary,” said Kurt Ring, Co-Founder and VP of Sales at StepAhead.

StepAhead’s innovative Tarmiz technology offers a new model for protecting PHI with targeted data anonymization. This process enables organizations to maintain the integrity and authenticity of their native data without being exposed to unnecessary risk or undesirable outcomes.

LuxSci provides secure email solutions to help healthcare organizations meet compliance requirements and protect patient data. LuxSci’s SecureLine encryption technology helps healthcare providers reduce risk profiles while providing easy-to-use email tools.

The partnership between LuxSci and StepAhead will help further expand the security around sensitive data and provide additional options for organizations looking to utilize that data in the most effective and safest ways possible. To learn more about SecureLine visit www.luxsci.com and for more information on Tarmiz visit https://stepahead.dev/learnmore/.

Tags: anonymization, data protection, data security, email security, ePHI, hipaa compliance, phi
Posted in Affiliates & Resellers, Industry News
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Rules for Using PHI in Patient Engagement

Friday, November 11th, 2022

As you know by now, we believe strongly in the benefits of using protected health information (PHI) to create highly targeted and personalized email campaigns. However, before you dive in and kick off your campaigns, you must be aware of the complex compliance requirements governing healthcare organizations’ marketing communications.

using PHI for patient engagement

Reminder: What is PHI?

PHI, or protected health information, is “individually identifiable protected health information.” Protected health information refers specifically to three classes of data:

  1. An individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition.
  2. The past, present, or future provisioning of health care to an individual.
  3. The past, present, or future payment-related information for the provisioning of health care to an individual.

For protected health information to be “individually identifiable,” the data can be linked to a specific individual (even if this is very indirect). There are 18 types of identifiers for an individual. Any one of these identifiers, combined with “protected health information,” would constitute PHI.

It’s often more complicated than it looks. For example, if you are running email campaigns, an email address is an individual identifier because it can be connected to a specific individual. That, combined with the email content, which often refers to the name of the provider, information about their health conditions, insurance coverage, or upcoming appointments, means that most communications from a healthcare practice could qualify as PHI.

HIPAA Rules for Using PHI in Patient Engagement

HIPAA regulates patient privacy. Healthcare organizations and their associates must obtain consent and implement technical safeguards before starting marketing campaigns.

HIPAA Privacy Rule

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, you must acquire consent to send marketing communications under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. It reads, “With limited exceptions, the Rule requires an individual’s written authorization before a use or disclosure of his or her protected health information can be made for marketing.”

The Privacy Rule defines “marketing” as “a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.” This also applies to many patient engagement communications.  

Generally, if the communication is “marketing,” then the communication can only occur if the covered entity obtains an individual’s authorization. Organizations must keep track of who has consented to receive marketing communications and allow them to opt-out at any time. We further discuss the nuances of patient consent for marketing communications here.

HIPAA Security Rule

All covered entities and their Business Associates are subject to the HIPAA Security Rule. If you are working with a vendor (like a marketing consultant, email marketing platform, or ad agency) that will have access to PHI, you need to enforce a Business Associate Agreement.

The HIPAA Security Rule categorizes the necessary safeguards into three categories: Physical, Administrative, and Technical Safeguards. More details about the requirements for each can be found here. Any vendor you choose to work with must follow these regulations. Some basic requirements include the following:

  • Physically protecting data and where it is stored,
  • Training staff on handling PHI, and
  • Setting up technology to protect PHI properly.

Assuming your patient engagement campaigns are primarily occurring via email, at a minimum, you must ensure that the email marketing vendor will:

  • Protect data at rest and
  • Protect data in transmission.

This means utilizing encryption to ensure that PHI cannot be eavesdropped on. Many popular email marketing vendors do not encrypt PHI in transmission. It’s extremely important to choose a provider who can protect PHI following HIPAA regulations.

hipaa compliant applications

The Benefits of Using PHI for Patient Engagement

Once you have established the proper policies and procedures, signed a BAA, and put any technical requirements in place, you can start segmenting and personalizing emails using PHI. Here are some segmentation and personalization ideas to get started.

By applying these techniques and using PHI in your patient engagement strategy, you can:

  • Design targeted patient journeys
  • Deliver better patient outcomes
  • Improve ROI and reduce costs

Contact us today to learn more about how to securely engage patients using PHI.

Tags: business associate agreement, email marketing, ePHI, hipaa compliance, hipaa privacy rule, hipaa security rule, patient engagement, personalization, phi, quasi compliance, segmentation
Posted in Email Marketing
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4 Email Personalization Strategies for Member Engagement

Friday, November 4th, 2022

For many benefits administrators, it’s open enrollment season! During this period, individuals can make changes to their insurance coverage. It’s vital to engage members to educate them about their plans and benefits to increase satisfaction, retain members, and acquire new enrollees. This article presents four email personalization strategies for member engagement.

member engagement strategies

Insurance Information is ePHI

Before we get to strategies for improving engagement, it’s worth reflecting on the regulatory hurdles. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, healthcare payers, insurers, and benefits administrators are covered entities. This means they must abide by HIPAA regulations when transmitting and storing protected health information (PHI).

Emails about an individual’s insurance coverage and eligibility, plan types and offerings, health status, and financial information are considered PHI and must be protected accordingly. We’ve written extensively about the HIPAA requirements for email elsewhere, but in brief, this means that emails containing PHI need to be encrypted and archived appropriately. Do not proceed with the following strategies until a HIPAA-compliant email solution is implemented correctly.

 

4 Email Personalization Strategies for Member Engagement

Segmentation and personalization are the keys to crafting messages that appeal to your audience. Particularly when it comes to healthcare coverage, there is no one-size fits all approach. Personalization techniques allow marketers to create highly relevant emails that the audience will find beneficial.

Age-Related Changes

In the US health insurance market, insurance coverage is often tied to age. As individuals reach new stages of life, there is an opportunity for them to change their insurance coverage. For example, insurers and benefits administrators can create targeted messaging to:

  • 26-year-old individuals about to enter the healthcare marketplace and
  • 65-year-old individuals who qualify for Medicare

It would not make sense to send these messages to a sizeable non-segmented email list because they would be irrelevant to the majority of recipients. By segmenting your email list by age and creating targeted messaging, you will receive a better response and return on investment from your email campaigns.

Plan and Benefit Educational Opportunities

There are many different types of health insurance coverage and benefit plans. Educating enrollees on their plan benefits makes them more likely to utilize their coverage and be satisfied with their plan. For example, if eligible members are not taking advantage of a dental benefit, it may be wise to create an email campaign that educates them on what they can access with their benefits.

Geography-Specific Messaging

There are often differences in enrollment periods, eligibility, and benefits in the US market on a state-by-state basis. Creating personalized messages based on the recipient’s residence makes the messages more relevant. For example, sending recipients the accurate enrollment date based on their residence is essential to getting people to sign up!

Health Status Messaging

You can also use information you know about your members to craft messages that can help improve their health. For example, it may be possible to know who is overdue for an annual appointment, and email messages can help them reschedule care. Similarly, several standard preventative screenings are tied to age and gender, like annual mammograms for women at 40 years old. By sending an email to all members who meet that criteria reminding them to get screened, it can improve population health and reduce costs.

Conclusion

Today’s consumers prefer email communications from businesses and brands. Personalizing your approach can improve your campaign performance and deliver significant results. If you want help improving your enrollment outreach with HIPAA-compliant email, contact LuxSci.

Tags: benefits administration, email marketing, email personalization, ePHI, health insurance, hipaa compliance, hipaa marketing, patient engagement, personalization, segmentation
Posted in Email Marketing
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Dental Practice Marketing & HIPAA

Thursday, September 29th, 2022

Dental practices face enormous challenges when it comes to acquiring new patients and expanding their practices. Marketing is all but essential to make sure your practice thrives. This article discusses how dental practices can thrive using personalized marketing without running afoul of HIPAA regulations.

Dental Practice Marketing Today

HITRUSTMarketing is essential to growing any business successfully, but operating in highly regulated spaces such as dentistry, there are serious compliance considerations. Whether responding to an online patient review or trying to increase patient engagement through marketing campaigns, misunderstanding HIPAA can lead to patient privacy breaches that place your finances and reputation at risk.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which controls what and when patient information may be shared for marketing purposes, was enacted before the electronic age. As a result, it can be challenging to find information regarding appropriate marketing practices using modern social and software technologies.

Most Common Misunderstandings of HIPAA

HIPAA is a complicated set of rules and regulations. When it comes to patient marketing, there are many misconceptions about what is and isn’t allowed. Here we unpack a few of the most common misunderstandings as they apply to HIPAA-compliant marketing.

1. As long as patient consent is acquired, HIPAA doesn’t matter

Acquiring patient consent does not remove the organization’s obligation to secure protected health information (PHI) under the law. If PHI is improperly accessed, it is a breach and can lead to severe consequences.

2. Marketing emails do not need encryption

Many marketing emails imply a relationship between patients and providers and, as such, can often be classified as PHI. HIPAA regulations require PHI to be encrypted in transit and at rest.

3. Personalizing marketing emails is a HIPAA violation

Marketing emails can be personalized as long as the proper safeguards and precautions are in place to protect patient privacy and meet compliance requirements.

The Power of Marketing Personalization for Dental Practices

When using a HIPAA-compliant email marketing solution, you can leverage the data and information you have about your patients to increase engagement.

personalization stats

Improve marketing results and drive better patient outcomes by connecting to your patients with messaging that matters to them. Using PHI to segment and personalize emails delivers results for both your practice and your patients.

A Cautionary Tale

In May 2022, Dr. U. Phillip Igbinadolor, D.M.D. & Associates, a dental practice with offices in Charlotte and Monroe, North Carolina, allegedly impermissibly disclosed a patient’s protected health information on a webpage in response to a negative online review. The Office for Civil Rights imposed a $50,000 civil penalty.

Marketing Directly Impacts Practice Success

In the last decade, patients have significantly changed how they seek healthcare. Most patients now consult digital channels as a primary source of information when searching for new treatments and providers. The information they find via internet searches, social media, and review websites substantially influences their choice of provider. For dental marketers, this change has required a significant adjustment to their marketing strategies.online marketing stats

The Answer is a Fully Compliant Marketing Communications Solution

Starting a new marketing program requires the right tools. Do not choose a solution that prohibits you from using PHI in a way that is fully compliant.

quasi compliance

How to Evaluate Secure Communications Solutions for Healthcare

Choosing the right email encryption solution is especially critical for dental organizations. HIPAA regulations, PHI risk, and improved patient engagement are absolute priorities. Not to mention the need for software that offers ease of use, simple integration, and high-level support. 

Meet Compliance Requirements for Email

LuxSci’s Secure Connector adds a layer of protection to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 email accounts. Don’t leave your organization’s security up to employees. Prevent breaches by securing sensitive data by default. LuxSci is HITRUST certified and can meet compliance requirements for HIPAA, SOC, GDPR, and more.

evaluation details

Conclusion: Online Marketing Isn’t Optional

Marketing your dental practice is no longer as simple as creating a listing in a directory or sending mail to potential patients. To remain competitive, practices must adopt online advertising techniques that offer a solid return on investment. The perils of possible HIPAA violations may dissuade some from taking the leap- but by properly vetting vendors, training staff, and selecting the right tools, it’s possible to engage patients and achieve results.

Tags: dental marketing, hipaa compliance, hipaa compliant marketing, hipaa marketing, personalization, quasi compliance
Posted in Email Marketing
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LuxSci and Compliancy Group Work Together to Transform Healthcare Communications

Wednesday, September 14th, 2022

Boston, MA- September 2022 – LuxSci, a provider of HIPAA-compliant email services, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Compliancy Group, a leading software solution for healthcare compliance. By partnering with LuxSci, Compliancy Group can offer best-in-class email security solutions to close technology gaps identified by their proprietary compliance platform.

“The way healthcare organizations communicate with patients is constantly evolving. These organizations often fail to realize that HIPAA regulates the ways in which providers can communicate with patients and the tools that they are permitted to use. As a forward-thinking email service provider, LuxSci has taken the steps required to meet HIPAA’s communication standards.” Kelly Koch, Director of Dental Relations, Compliancy Group.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced healthcare organizations to adopt new digital technologies quickly. Many turned to Compliancy Group to navigate the complex HIPAA compliance questions associated with new technologies like telehealth. Likewise, providers rapidly implemented digital tools, like LuxSci’s suite of HIPAA-compliant email solutions, to engage patients. The partnership allows LuxSci and Compliancy Group to help healthcare organizations address the difficult compliance questions that arise during digital transformation.

“Compliancy Group offers a vital service to healthcare organizations and vendors in these rapidly changing times. Their comprehensive compliance platform allows providers to navigate this heavily regulated environment with the confidence that they are complying with HIPAA. LuxSci is proud to partner with Compliancy Group to help their customers secure email communications and engage patients with HIPAA-compliant technology.” Heather Clark, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, LuxSci.

Compliancy Group enables healthcare organizations and vendors serving the healthcare industry to achieve HIPAA compliance through an easy-to-use software platform and live guided coaching. The Guard, its proprietary compliance platform, covers all the necessary parts of the HIPAA regulation to protect organizations in case of an audit. Compliancy Group awards clients the HIPAA Seal of Compliance upon successful completion. The Seal can be used in marketing and proves they are dedicated to protecting patient information and have completed the steps required to satisfy the law.

LuxSci provides secure email solutions to help healthcare organizations meet compliance requirements and protect patient data. LuxSci’s SecureLine encryption technology helps healthcare providers reduce risk profiles while providing easy-to-use email tools. LuxSci’s top-rated US-based support team goes above and beyond to help organizations stay protected.

 

Tags: compliancy group, healthcare marketing, hipaa compliance, luxsci news, partnerships, patient engagement, press release
Posted in Affiliates & Resellers, Industry News
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