After five years of instituting a text messaging ban for providers, the Joint Commission has reversed course.
The accreditation body originally banned text messaging by licensed independent practitioners because of security concerns, but the organization has lifted the ban, effective immediately, partly due to the proliferation of secure messaging platforms that have emerged.
"Sending orders via text messaging was prohibited due to concerns about using personal mobile devices to send unsecure text messages between providers," the Joint Commission wrote in a recent newsletter, according tomHealth Intelligence. "At the time, the technology available could not provide the safety and security necessary to adequately support the use of text messaging for orders."
Now, the Joint Commission permits the use of text message orders through a secure messaging platform as long as they comply with certain components, such as a secure sign-on process, end-to-end encryption, read and delivery receipts and date and time stamps on messages, among others, reports HIPAA Journal.
Standard text messaging is still prohibited.
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