Phone systems in healthcare handle protected health information (PHI) in voicemails, recordings, texts and call logs. A provider marketing itself as "HIPAA-ready" is not enough — you must verify.
The checklist
- Provider will sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
- Encryption in transit (TLS/SRTP) for calls and messages.
- Encryption at rest for voicemail, recordings and transcripts.
- Role-based admin access and multi-factor authentication.
- Audit logs for access to recordings and voicemail.
- Configurable retention and deletion policies.
- Secure texting or the ability to disable SMS for PHI.
- Fax-to-email with encryption if you still fax.
- Data-center security attestations (e.g., SOC 2 reports).
- Documented breach notification process.
- After-hours routing to on-call staff with privacy controls.
- Staff training on what not to leave in voicemail or SMS.
Practices typically also want appointment-reminder texts, EHR integration and after-hours answering. Request healthcare-ready quotes →
General information only; consult your compliance officer or counsel for your specific obligations.
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