The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a HIPAA-Compliant Video Conferencing Platform

The rise of telehealth has revolutionised healthcare delivery, enabling patients to access medical services remotely and conveniently. Video conferencing has become an integral tool in this transformation, facilitating real-time consultations, diagnoses, and even remote monitoring.

However, the virtual nature of these interactions raises crucial concerns about patient privacy and data security. This is where HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, steps in, establishing a comprehensive framework for safeguarding sensitive patient information.

This article is your roadmap to adding HIPAA-compliant video conferencing to your digital consultation arsenal.

We'll break down the key HIPAA requirements that apply to video conferencing and equip you with the knowledge to navigate the different options for adding video conferencing capabilities, from choosing a HIPAA-compliant vendor to building your own solution.

Understanding requirements essential for HIPAA compliance is a key to ensure that your telehealth service operates within the bounds of HIPAA regulations. Some specific requirements include -

1. Business associate agreements (BAAs):

A BAA is a legal contract between your healthcare organization (the covered entity) and the video conferencing vendor (the business associate). It outlines the vendor's obligations for protecting your patients' protected health information (PHI) when using their platform. Signing a BAA plays a significant role in ensuring HIPAA compliance.

What to look for in the BAA:

2. End to end encryption (E2EE)

HIPAA regulations mandate that PHI be protected against unauthorized access, disclosure, and misuse. E2EE plays a critical role in fulfilling this obligation by:

3. Data transmission security:

Data transmitted during video consultations, including audio, video, and chat messages, must be protected using secure protocols like Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP). Additionally, data should be transmitted over secure connections, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), to further mitigate the risk of interception.

4. Strong access and authentication control

Think of them as multi-layered security checkpoints. These controls verify the identity of every user attempting to enter your virtual consultation room, ensuring only authorized individuals gain access to patient information. This includes employing

• multi-factor authentication

• unique user IDs

• strong password requirements

• role-based access controls

• secure session management

• user activity monitoring

• account lockout mechanisms

• regular security audits

5. Data backup and disaster recovery:

Implementing robust data backup and disaster recovery plans is crucial to ensure business continuity and data availability in unforeseen circumstances. Regular backups should be created and stored securely in separate locations. Additionally, disaster recovery plans should be tested and updated regularly to ensure a rapid and effective response to any potential disruptions.

Now that we know what makes a video conferencing solution HIPAA compliant, let's look at the different ways to add it to your existing infrastructure, from building your own custom solution to partnering with a secure vendor.

Here are some different ways to add HIPAA-compliant video conferencing to your telehealth infrastructure:

1. Build your own native video conferencing solution

Integrating native video conferencing into your telehealth application using secure HIPAA compliant video conferencing APIs can be highly effective.

This method not only offers flexibility and customizability, but it also ensures an optimal user experience. It affords maximum control over your platform's security and data privacy, key factors when dealing with sensitive patient information.

Digital healthcare businesses aiming to democratize healthcare delivery often leverage this model to create intuitive mobile apps that allow patients to easily sign up and conduct consultations efficiently.

2. Partnering with a HIPAA compliant video conferencing vendor

Softwares like Zoom or Google Meet offer diverse functionalities such as screen sharing, annotation, and chat features. These options, generally more cost-effective and easier to implement, suit solo practitioners and small practices exceptionally well.

3. Leveraging existing patient engagement software

Several patient engagement software systems come with built-in video conferencing capabilities. This allows healthcare providers to leverage their existing infrastructure, making it an efficient and cost-effective solution.

These platforms are usually tailor-made for large hospital chains venturing into telehealth, ensuring a smooth integration into your workflow and a seamless experience for your patients.

Building your own native video conferencing solution

Creating a native video conferencing solution might initially seem intimidating, considering the seemingly complex task of developing a solution that meets high standards similar to platforms like Zoom or FaceTime. However, with the right tools and infrastructure, building your own solution can offer you unparalleled control over customization and patient experience.

Benefits of native video conferencing integration within your telehealth app:

How can CometChat help?

At CometChat, we empower healthcare organizations to build their own secure and HIPAA-compliant communication experiences in their existing platforms. Our ready-made UI kits and in-app communication SDKs accelerate development, offering pre-built components and features for various platforms like web, iOS, and Android.

This allows organizations, from telehealth startups to large hospitals, to easily integrate chat and video calling, streamline appointment scheduling, and securely share medical records.

Sign up for a free account to quickly test and iterate.

Chat with our team to get a personalised demo tailored to your workflow and patient experience.

Partnering with a HIPAA compliant video conferencing vendor

For those lacking the resources or desire to build their own video conferencing solution from scratch, partnering with a HIPAA-compliant vendor offers a quick and convenient path.

These platforms take on the technical load, letting healthcare providers focus primarily on their services. However, this option comes with its own limitations, trading control and flexibility for ease of implementation.

• Unlike building your own platform, partnering with a vendor grants you limited control over the user experience, features, and security measures. You'll be at the mercy of their roadmap, updates, and potential limitations, making customization a challenge.

• Your video consultations are tied to the vendor's platform. If their servers experience downtime, your communication lifeline gets cut. You'll have no control over restoring service or mitigating disruptions.

• Chat messages exchanged within the vendor's platform won't automatically integrate with your app's chat system. You'll either be stuck with a fragmented communication history or need to build costly integrations to bridge the gap.

• Analyzing detailed call data, like average call duration or patient engagement metrics, becomes challenging. You might need to rely on the vendor's analytics tools or build custom integrations,

Partnering can be a viable option for:

We'll provide a detailed review and comparison of various HIPAA compliant video conferencing vendors, allowing you to weigh these trade-offs and make an informed decision.

1. Zoom

How does Zoom maintain HIPAA Compliance?

Most importantly, Zoom for Healthcare has a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) that stipulates securing personal information and medical data using AES-256 encryption standards.

2. Google Meet

Is Google Meet HIPAA Compliant?

Google Meet safeguards HIPAA-compliant chat through a multi-layered approach, encompassing robust encryption, access controls, 2FA, and data minimization. It adheres to HIPAA regulations via a dedicated Business Associate Agreement and GDPR compliance, while offering features like chat log export and reporting tools for enhanced security and record-keeping.

3. GoToMeeting

How does GoToMeeting maintain HIPAA Compliance?

To maintain HIPAA compliance for telehealth conferencing, GoToMeeting uses AES-256 encryption on both video calls and data at rest, a signed BAA, and multiple security features such as meeting lock, unique passwords, risk-based authentication on enterprise-grade SSO.

Leveraging existing patient engagement software

These platforms are typically designed with healthcare scenarios in mind, ensuring seamless integration into your existing workflow.

They offer unique features adapted for the specific needs of patient engagement, such as appointment scheduling, automated reminders, and patient health record (EHR) integration.

Moreover, using a system your team is already familiar with can reduce training time and minimise adjustment challenges, allowing your staff to focus on what really matters - providing excellent patient care.

While leveraging existing software can be beneficial, it's essential to ensure the built-in video conferencing capabilities meet your needs in terms of quality, security, and ease of use.

We will delve deep into reviews of various patient engagement software systems with built-in video conferencing. These reviews will provide a first-hand account focusing on their user experience, strengths, possible limitations, and most importantly, their approach towards maintaining HIPAA compliance.

1. Doxy.me

Doxy.me is a browser-based web application built with JavaScript that can be run on any device that has a supported browser, camera, and a microphone.

How Doxy.me maintains HIPAA Compliance?

Doxy.me does not store protected health information (PHI), secures data with intrusion detection systems and has disaster preparation plans in place.

2. SimplePractice Telehealth

However, while this may be planned for the future, SimplePractice does not offer a public API or any integrations at this time. Until then, SimplePractice is a closed system that serves as an off-the-shelf solution ideal for clinics that need to implement telehealth as quickly as possible.

How SimplePractice maintains HIPAA Compliance?

SimplePractice has an internal Security and Privacy Program and a signed BAA that incorporates requirements from the HIPAA, HITRUST CSF, NIST, and PCI-DSS frameworks, to name a few. To ensure compliance, they use access control policies, AES-256 encryption, and 24/7 monitoring for vulnerabilities to boost protection on their networks and all endpoints.

3. VSee

Clinics can use the VSee SDK and API to build a telehealth portal that integrates HIPAA compliant video conferencing with waiting rooms, triage centers, EHR screen sharing, secure messaging, and wearable devices.

How VSee maintains HIPAA Compliance?

Not only does VSee ensure HIPAA compliance by protecting PHI and data privacy in all audio and video communications through secure encryption, but also offers BAA agreements that stipulate all patient information be kept secure and any breach of PHI be immediately reported.

Aarathy Sundaresan

Content Marketer , CometChat

Aarathy is a B2B SaaS Content Marketer at CometChat, excited about the convergence of technology and writing. Aarathy is eager to explore and harness the power of tech-driven storytelling to create compelling narratives that captivate readers. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys the art of dance, finding joy and personal fulfillment.