Can Zoom be used for medical appointments?

People are starting to wonder if it makes sense to try to use Zoom for medical appointments. We already use it for so many of the other tasks that we do, but does it also work when trying to get medical questions answered?

One group of people that will have a particular interest in learning about how Zoom can be used for medical appointments are mothers-to-be. They may have some serious questions that they need to ask a medical professional about their pregnancy. They can check out this site for help with this matter.

Does Zoom Help Facilities Remain HIPAA Compliant?

One of the most enduring questions about Zoom is how it is possible to keep HIPAA complaints in a system like this. It seems almost impossible that someone could have a productive and honest meeting with a medical professional on Zoom and still be able to keep with HIPAA guidelines at the same time. That being said, people do it every day, and it is working out quite swimmingly for them.

They understand that HIPAA guidelines are in place to help them out, and they know that Zoom has safeguards in place to help keep their information confidential. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of both the medical professional and the patient themselves to keep private information safe and secure, but you can rest easy when you are in a Zoom meeting that this will certainly still happen.

A Paid Zoom Account May be Required

A paid Zoom account is the best way for a medical professional to keep their patient’s personal information safe and secure from those who have no business getting involved with it. This is to say that the medical professionals who work with patients every day need to make sure they are paying for a service that can assist them in getting the HIPAA compliance that they need when they work with their patients.

Fortunately, the account costs just $14.99/month for the features that are required to remain HIPAA compliant and keep everyone happy with the ultimate outcome.

What Type of Features Keep Information Safe?

It is necessary to have certain features turned on via Zoom in order to maintain the privacy of patients. For example, it is useful to use things such as meeting passcodes and a waiting room for patients to help ensure that all of their personal information and medical records is kept safe and secure from the outside public.

Doctors need to segregate the other work that they do on Zoom from the direct work that they do for their patients. This is to say that it is necessary for them to keep up a distinct wall between the two things so that there is never any question about if a doctor is doing everything he or she needs to in order to keep that information safe.

A few of the key features to use for enhanced security include:

• Meeting passwords
• Waiting room feature for patients
• Authentication of profiles that are attempting to enter the room
• Locking down of the meeting once it has begun with a patient

Every one of these features has been successfully used by doctors and other medical personnel in the past to make sure that the meetings are kept as safe and secure as possible. Those who have sensitive information to share with the doctor are always permitted to do so, and they shouldn’t feel any extra pressure about it simply because they are speaking with that doctor over Zoom.

With the layers of technology that Zoom has now included in its platform, patients should feel just as confident speaking to a doctor on that platform as they are speaking with them in person.

Can I Send Secure Text Messages to Patients Via Zoom?

If you are a healthcare professional, you should know that it is possible to send secure text messages to patients via a Zoom phone. With the executed BAA, you can send messages that are secure and can only be opened by that specific patient.

This is great news for those who are trying to make sure they don’t make any mistake or inadvertently send messages out to the wrong people. It is quite possibly the worst-case scenario to have a text message that goes out to someone who was never supposed to see it in the first place.

Make sure you review all of the options within the Zoom system before proceeding. It is very likely the case that there are some features contained within that you didn’t even know about.

If this is true, then you need to utilize that information to use Zoom as effectively as possible for yourself and achieve what you need out of it as a medical professional. Patients will increasingly expect to have services offered to them via Zoom. If you can provide this, patients will flock to you.

 

Feature Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-on-a-video-call-4225920/