On Providing Bespoke Hospice Answering Service
Hospice medicare is a challenging service – admittedly.
End of life care for patients requires providing emotional support as well as helping them manage pain.
“It is a full time job for caregivers”, says a doctor. “They are so weighed down by responsibilities that any kind of disruptions can be very distressing”.
It is for this reason that hospice medicare requires engaging of professional medicaid answering services that will compassionately respond to calls from families of distressed patients.
Here are a few benefits professional hospice answering services can deliver.
But there is also another element that is very important – trust.
Patient trust is very crucial, and this is where HIPAA compliance comes in.
HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Insurance Act, is an enacted law that ensures patients’ PHI or Protected Health Information is kept confidential and secure.
It is important to keep in mind that hospices, as covered entities, are required to manage patients’ electronic protected health information and other records in compliance with HIPAA privacy rules.
And since, the answering services are business partners to hospices they are covered entities by law.
As one call agent of a professional medicaid answering services pointed out, “Non compliance can lead to huge fines, bad publicity, dissatisfied patients, and damaged reputations”.
Yes it is true that during hospice care, patients no longer desire a cure for their illness at the end of life.
But a hospice medicare needs to comply with HIPAA nevertheless.
The ever changing technology has helped hospices to manage their calls. With emails, texts, and chats to manage, the answering services are doing it all.
Yet, a hospice must take care while choosing an answering service.
Here are a few things they must not forget to ask.
End of life care for patients requires providing emotional support as well as helping them manage pain.
“It is a full time job for caregivers”, says a doctor. “They are so weighed down by responsibilities that any kind of disruptions can be very distressing”.
It is for this reason that hospice medicare requires engaging of professional medicaid answering services that will compassionately respond to calls from families of distressed patients.
Here are a few benefits professional hospice answering services can deliver.
- The call agents respond to each and every call with compassion and care while keeping a professional tone.
- The answering firm has state-of-the-art systems that make use of the latest technology.
- 24X 7 X 365 service so that there is no any worry that a call is missed.
- Relay messages to the doctor or staff during or after office hours.
- Manage appointments by changing or canceling the appointments at any time of the day
But there is also another element that is very important – trust.
Patient trust is very crucial, and this is where HIPAA compliance comes in.
HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Insurance Act, is an enacted law that ensures patients’ PHI or Protected Health Information is kept confidential and secure.
It is important to keep in mind that hospices, as covered entities, are required to manage patients’ electronic protected health information and other records in compliance with HIPAA privacy rules.
And since, the answering services are business partners to hospices they are covered entities by law.
As one call agent of a professional medicaid answering services pointed out, “Non compliance can lead to huge fines, bad publicity, dissatisfied patients, and damaged reputations”.
Yes it is true that during hospice care, patients no longer desire a cure for their illness at the end of life.
But a hospice medicare needs to comply with HIPAA nevertheless.
The ever changing technology has helped hospices to manage their calls. With emails, texts, and chats to manage, the answering services are doing it all.
Yet, a hospice must take care while choosing an answering service.
Here are a few things they must not forget to ask.
- Besides HIPAA, does the service comply with local and state regulations?
- Does the company have backup power in case of exigencies?
- Are the call agents bilingual?