Video conferencing tools, like Dokeos Live, have seen a sudden rise in popularity among healthcare practitioners due to the difficulties many have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not just any video-sharing tools are appropriate for use by professionals in this industry.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets clear rules for healthcare institutions to follow for safeguarding private health information. These rules must be upheld when using video conferencing tools as well.
Read on to learn more about healthcare compliance and discover the best HIPAA compliant video conferencing software for your healthcare practice:
How healthcare video conferencing works
Modern video conferencing tools provide practitioners and their patients with secure video and audio sharing features over the Internet.
To use video conferencing tools with a patient, both you and the patient will need smartphones, tablets, or computers with Internet access. These devices should also have functioning cameras, microphones, and displays to serve this purpose.
One-on-one video conferencing is called point-to-point conferencing and works between two devices. Multi-point video conferencing works a little differently, allowing multiple participants to connect to either a single source or multiple streams dynamically.
What makes video conferencing software HIPAA compliant?
HIPAA, which was signed into effect in 1996, governs the ways healthcare providers can legally access, store, and acquire an individual’s private health information.
Video conferencing tools must follow the guidelines established in this act to be completely compliant. These include the following:
HIPAA Security Rule
- Ensure confidentiality and availability of all electronic private health information.
- Ensure compliance among members of the workforce.
HIPAA Privacy Rule
- Protect all individually identifiable health information held and transmitted by a “covered entity.”
- Limit health information disclosure to directly concerned parties and regulatory bodies only.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is also important to consider when adopting any new communication medium for regular use at your private or public practice.
The 5 best HIPAA compliant video conferencing software
With the right software, monitoring and treatment can be transformed into easier, more meaningful experiences for patients without demanding additional time and resources from medical staff. While patients experience reduced stress as they can make it to their scheduled video appointments without having to worry about restrictions in transportation or other barriers, doctors and other healthcare professionals can handle more cases in less time.
Whatever your software needs, it’s essential to make sure the tools you choose are HIPPA compliant. The following list features our top picks for the best HIPAA compliant video conferencing tools for your medical practice:
1. Dokeos Live
Dokeos Live’s video conferencing solution is fully HIPAA compliant and capable of connecting practitioners with up to 250 patients at a time.
Note-taking features are integrated into this tool to improve productivity. You can also share documents and screen recordings securely with Dokeos Live. If you subscribe to the Dokeos Live option, the meeting rooms are automatically generated in your Dokeos LMS platform when you create your webinar activities.
2. SecureVideo
Through a special business associate agreement, SecureVideo accepts full responsibility for maintaining HIPAA compliance and safeguarding sensitive information on behalf of your practice and patients.
SecureVideo offers 24/7 support service to complement their powerful security and encryption features.
3. Secure Telehealth
This provider offers compliance and business associate agreement responsibility for your patients’ data. Secure Telehealth also provides a relatively simple user interface to minimize confusion among caregivers and patients alike.
Additional features included in Secure Telehealth’s video conferencing software, such as a virtual waiting room and end-to-end encryption, make it a great option for practitioners looking to get things up and running quickly.
4. OnCall Health
OnCall Health allows medical personnel to host and join video conferences with up to 25 participants (great for efficient training sessions and procedural sit-ins). This video sharing software provider also provides built-in consent management tools to help practitioners inform patients before proceeding with video sessions.
Secure file-sharing functionality, screen-sharing capabilities, and even instant messaging are all included in this comprehensive telehealthcare communication suite.
5. Let’s Talk Interactive
This video conferencing office suite can be purchased and used without any contractual commitment or lock-in agreement.
In addition to powerful patient-side scheduling functionality and support for use on multiple platforms, Let’s Talk Interactive also allows practitioners to process payments remotely. This can really help to speed up interactions with patients and simplify administrative concerns.
Let’s Talk Interactive also offers a business associate agreement to ensure they are held responsible for your patients’ data. Added DDoS protection and disaster recovery features make this a very safe option to use at your medical practice.
Elevate your team’s training with elearning
Choosing the best HIPAA compliant video conferencing software for your team is just the start. Next, you need to integrate it into your practice so it’s useful to all stakeholders. To do this, you need the right training.
That’s where Dokeos LMS and Dokeos Live (our video conferencing solution) come in. We can integrate your team and technology into our compliant learning management system to facilitate training efforts and procedural sit-ins—no matter where your team members are working from. Our LMS is also fully HIPAA compliant, keeping all private health information safely encrypted at all times. Reach out today to learn more about why elearning with Dokeos is the best choice for your team.