On February 8, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a quality standard memorandum (QSO Memo) updating and revising a memorandum it issued on January 5, 2018, to now permit the texting of patient...more
Looking for compliance education and networking in your area? HCCA’s Regional Healthcare Compliance Conferences offer practitioners convenient, local compliance education that covers a wide variety of current and emerging...more
Texting by physicians and other health care providers has long been a hot topic due to the privacy and security considerations involved, although HIPAA and state laws have generally been at the center of this discussion....more
Text messaging has become an important communication tool. The number of text messages sent in the United States has grown exponentially from an estimated 12 million per month in 2000 to 780 billion per month in 2017....more
On December 28, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a memo to state survey agency directors clarifying its position on the use of text messaging among health care providers. ...more
After a confusing month of contradicting guidance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memorandum clarifying its position regarding the use of text messaging with patient information between providers....more
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals and other health care organizations, hit pause on its prior May 2016 announcement to allow secure text messaging in hospitals and other health care organizations. The use of...more