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GrokFor covered entities and business associates managing electronic protected health information (ePHI), it is essential to choose a software provider that is HIPAA compliant. Not only does this assist with meeting legal requirements, but it also creates an environment of trust among patients and customers. If you’re using software that’s not HIPAA compliant to handle ePHI, the risk for data breaches, improper handling of ePHI, and hefty regulatory fines increases substantially. This exposes both your organization and patients to bad actors.
For covered entities and business associates, HIPAA compliance isn’t optional. If a covered entity and business associate work together, the responsibility for compliance becomes shared. If a doctor’s office (a covered entity) uses a software tool (a business associate) to log incoming patient healthcare questions, both must comply with their requirements under HIPAA.
What is BoldDesk?
BoldDesk is a help desk software tool created by Syncfusion that’s used to offer end-to-end customer support services. It’s a ticketing system that can track incoming patient inquiries or claims, allowing patients and healthcare providers to communicate in a secure and private environment.
With BoldDesk, you can organize support requests, convert incoming emails into tickets, collaborate within your organization, automate repetitive tasks, and auto-assign tickets to agents. It also allows you to collect satisfaction feedback, make informed decisions using built-in reports, and improve customer or patient service.
BoldDesk as a HIPAA-compliant software solution
By activating your HIPAA-enabled account and accepting our business associate agreement, you’ll get a robust set of features designed to meet HIPAA compliance standards:
Data encryption
BoldDesk’s data encryption in transit and at rest uses industry-standard encryption protocols. Data encryption converts readable data into unreadable data to prevent unauthorized or unintended access and alteration of data. It also ensures secure data transmission using protocols like TLS and SSL, adding an extra layer of security to protect sensitive information.
Strict access control measures
Access control measures are in place to regulate who can access specific information within BoldDesk. This essential security protocol is enhanced with role-based access controls whereby access roles are assigned based on predefined roles, thus restricting PHI access to only authorized personnel who are trained on handling sensitive information.
Authentication requirements
Multifactor and two-factor authentication add an extra layer of security to user accounts since users are required to prove their identity before accessing their accounts, significantly enhancing security against unauthorised access. SSO is also supported, allowing users to log into their accounts using a single set of credentials through systems like Office 365, OAuth 2.0, and OpenID. This helps improve convenience, eliminate too many passwords, and enhances security through centralized identity management.
Audit logs
Audit logs track ePHI access, modifications, and all user activities throughout the process. Audit logs contain information about specific events or operations, such as access, change details, who performed an action, and so on, for transparency, accountability, and monitoring compliance.
Customizable data retention policies
Customize your data retention policies to manage how long data is stored in line with HIPAA compliance. This helps optimize data management practices and minimizes risks associated with holding unnecessary data.
Automatic session timeouts
Session timeouts log users off after a predefined period of inactivity, eliminating unattended sessions, session hijacking, and preventing unauthorized access to information due to idle sessions.
Disaster recovery
Backup mechanisms ensure data is stored securely. BoldDesk automatically replicates data across multiple locations in real time and continuously backs up data to ensure the restoration of service in the event of natural disasters, cyberattacks, or hardware failure. Additionally, our monitoring system alerts us to any problems, and we have experts on standby to handle any unexpected incidents.
Conclusion
BoldDesk stands out as a HIPAA-compliant software solution for managing incoming patient or customer requests. It has strict privacy and security measures in place to assist covered entities and business associates with meeting their legal requirements. When using a HIPAA-enabled BoldDesk account with a business associate agreement in place, you’re using a secure ticketing system that ensures ePHI is protected and HIPAA compliance is supported.