However, the announcement does not give clinicians carte blanche to text patients and other care team members. Certain standards must be in place to meet Joint Commission requirements and ensure the safety of PHI. Included in these standards are a secure sign-on process, encrypted messaging, delivery and receipts, date and time stamps, customized message retention time frames, and specified contact lists for individuals authorized to receive and record orders.
Beyond these standards, however, are much more important factors that healthcare organizations must consider when exploring secure texting providers. The features described below not only ensure the secure protection of PHI but enable effective, patient-focused care.
Secure Text Messages Should Be Patient-Centered
Every year, over 700,000 emergency department visits are due to adverse drug events. Many of these could easily be prevented with proper, patient-centered communication. By Identifying patients by age and gender in the secure text message subject line, clinicians can drastically reduce the chance of dosage errors.
Easy Integration with EMR
Nurses receiving text orders from a physician should be able to easily upload those orders to the EMR through an industry-standard HL7 Order Management Interface. This helps in reducing the workload of the Nurse and also eliminates copy & paste errors. In conjunction with Patient-Centered conversations, this can improve the accuracy of identifying patient records in the EMR.
Customizable Quick Message Templates
Repeated orders such as painkillers and other commonly prescribed medications can be added as Quick Messages by the physician or other care team members. This helps to reduce errors in orders and maintains efficiency.
Request Acknowledgement to Improve Workflow
The main disadvantage of outdated pager systems is the one-way path of communication. Basic secure texting provides delivery and read receipt of messages, which provides peace of mind when patient health and safety is on the line. Additionally, the healthcare-focused secure texting services you consider should offer a “Request Acknowledgement” feature, which can significantly improve order workflow. Physician can request acknowledgement for secure text orders when sending to a Nurse. Once the nurse sees this order and enters into the data into the EMR, the message can be easily acknowledged with a simple click. This acknowledgement closes the communication loop and ensures that orders are carried out as requested.
Auditable Archive Under Your Control
The ideal secure texting platform should provide an easily accessible archive where care team conversations and shared documents can be stored for any future auditing needs. Additionally, data in the archive should be accessed for eDiscovery purposes and the training of future care team members. More importantly, auditable archives should be under your control, behind your firewall. This helps with adhering to state and federal regulations regarding audit logs and you will not be limited by secure texting vendor’s log retaining policy.
Choosing the Right Secure Texting Platform
Texting orders is the most versatile method that is easy to use and provides timely delivery of care. However, great attention must be paid towards reducing errors and improving workflows. A secure texting service that meets these high-level requirements with a robust, healthcare-focused features listed above can help healthcare organizations realize the full potential of smartphones.
About QliqSOFT
QliqSOFT is the maker of Qliq, the most secure HIPAA and HITECH-compliant healthcare communication platform that connects doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals as well as their staff. For more information about Qliq and its features, please visit www.qliqsoft.com.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
