Lawyer suggests strategies to avoid texting risks with PHI

Healthcare providers and their business associates are fast getting hip to the reality that it’s not OK to text protected health information (PHI).

Not only does unsecure texting of PHI run afoul of HIPAA privacy rules, but it’s also just too easy for texted PHI to be stolen, hacked, leaked or lost unless it is not safeguarded.

Lawyer Lisa Thompson of the LeClairRyan law firm amply underscores that message in a recent post on the Richmond, Va.-based firm’s blog.

Thompson notes that texting is popular for many reasons. It’s “easy, fast and efficient,” she points out. It’s also considerably less cumbersome than email, and you don’t need a computer to do it.

But for healthcare providers, all this convenience can be dangerous and can lead to unauthorized access to PHI, Thompson emphasizes. For the full article click here 

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