Michael J. Kline was featured in Law.com article "3 Legal Tips Now That Medical Communications Are Mobile ." Full text can be found in the October 13, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.
Safety precautions must be strongly considered for medical providers when communicating with patients via mobile technology. Although ease of communication over these platforms has been integrated into many industries, those in the medical field must ensure that information is protected and compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Fox Rothschild's, Michael J. Kline has a few tips which can be used to help medical practitioners protect patient data:
- Encryption: There should be more than a password for blocking unwanted guests from viewing sensitive material. The use of encryption can greatly increase security when sending emails. According to Kline, "email programs should be able to assure that the message cannot be read until it has been transmitted to the provider's device."
- The Medical Record: The use of mobile platforms has led to an increase in conversations via text message. It is important for medical providers to include conversations over text message into permanent medical records as well.
- Consent: Patient consent is necessary if medical practitioners wish to communicate via mobile devices. It should also be noted that medical providers should avoid "shorthand, misspelling or errors" which can occur more frequently in this type of communication and has the ability to result in malpractice liability.
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