To guarantee HIPAA compliance, businesses that deal with protected health information (PHI) must have the physical, network, and procedural security checks in place and implement them.When delivering healthcare communications on a large scale, it's all too easy to ignore compliance issues.
Staying compliant and avoiding multi-million dollar penalties is easier with a HIPAA compliant direct mail partner who offers automation and monitoring.What are the marketing requirements under HIPAA?While there are strict privacy regulations regarding PHI for marketing reasons, healthcare practitioners are allowed to utilize it when communicating about their products and services.This implies that a healthcare practitioner might advertise a new device or service to its patient database.
It's not a problem for a healthcare practitioner to send a flier about a new weight-loss program to all obese customers, even if the therapy they underwent was not for obesity.However, it is not acceptable to sell or transmit that same patient data with another company for marketing purposes, which takes us to the second, and arguably most crucial, element of the HIPAA standards for direct mail: data protection.
Most importantly, a HIPAA compliant direct mail must be aware of these laws.Understanding the information and delivery constraints imposed by HIPAAThe essential thing to understand about a direct mail campaign is what you can and cannot mail.
However, any information that may reveal a person's identity must not be included, such as:Identification information:Driver's licence number, IP addresses, photographs, birth date, social security numbers, biometrics, and addressContact information:Emails, contact numbers and addressesHealthcare information:record numbers, financial position, provider identities, treatment plans, and diagnosisYou may mail the following information:Correspondence like invoices, letters, and statementsInformation on various treatment choices or medical treatments that is educational.Benefits or coverage explanations (EOCs and EOBs)Notices about possible security breaches or workplace announcements in generalHealthcare organizations should not send via ordinary mail any health data.
It violates HIPAA and puts the receiver's privacy in danger if anyone other than the intended receiver opens the mail.