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A staggering 45 million Americans had their healthcare data exposed in breaches reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2024.
You can expect the number to grow each year as more clinics, hospitals, and finance professionals adopt cloud-based phone systems as their primary channel for patient communication.
Let’s talk about the implications of being culpable for leaking protected health information under HIPAA privacy rules.
A single HIPAA violation can attract civil penalties ranging from $100 to $50,000. And then there is a $1.5 million fine for repeated or willful violations. Meanwhile, you risk imprisonment for up to 10 years and $250,000 in fines for misusing or disclosing patient data.
But there’s a silver lining.
You can avoid all of this by using a HIPAA-compliant phone service to secure text, calls, and voicemail that contain patient information.
But what makes a phone service HIPAA compliant?
That’s what we’ll cover in this blog post.
Read on.
Table of Contents
2. Who must comply with HIPAA?
3. What are HIPAA requirements for phone communication?
4. What is a HIPAA-compliant phone service?
5. How to make a phone service HIPAA-compliant?
6. How does iPlum meet HIPAA compliance requirements for phone service?
7. HIPAA-compliant phone service: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
8. Experience true HIPAA compliance with iPlum
What is HIPAA?
For starters, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federal law passed in 1996 to protect the privacy and security of patient health information.
It sets national standards for how healthcare providers, insurers, and related service providers handle data related to a patient, including names, addresses, medical record numbers, test results, prescriptions, and any details that reveal a patient’s identity or condition.
HIPAA’s primary objective is to ensure that medical records, calls, and messages containing a patient’s health details are handled responsibly and remain confidential.
Who must comply with HIPAA?
HIPAA compliance affects a wide range of organizations.
The common denominator here is that each one handles PHI, whether through patient care, billing, insurance processing, or communication systems that transmit sensitive data.
Covered Entities
HIPAA applies to healthcare providers, insurance companies, and healthcare clearinghouses that handle patient information in their daily work.
- Healthcare providers include hospitals, clinics, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and any practitioner who sends or receives health data electronically.
- Health insurance companies manage medical claims, benefits, and patient policy data.
- Healthcare clearinghouses act as intermediaries that translate or process medical billing and insurance data between systems.
Each of these entities creates, receives, or transmits information that can identify a patient and is, therefore, bound by HIPAA rules.
Business associates
The law also extends to business associates. These are vendors or service providers that handle PHI on behalf of a covered entity. The group includes companies that store, transmit, or process any data linked to patient care.
Examples include VoIP providers, call centers, and texting messaging platforms used by medical offices for scheduling, follow-ups, or consultations.
HIPAA regulations also extend to third-party IT contractors, cloud storage providers, and data-processing firms that maintain systems containing PHI.
Therefore, if a phone service provider, software vendor, or communication platform interacts with patient data in any way, it carries the same legal obligations as the medical practice it serves.
What are HIPAA requirements for phone communication?
HIPAA treats phone communications differently depending on the type of service used.
Conversations over a traditional telephone line, known as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), are not considered electronic communications under HIPAA, as long as the information being shared didn’t exist in electronic form immediately before the call.
Even so, any information shared over the phone must comply with the Privacy Rule. That means only permitted uses or disclosures of PHI are allowed, and details must be limited to the minimum necessary to achieve the purpose of the conversation.
When phone calls, voice messages, and texts involve a non-PSTN system, such as a VoIP phone or cloud-based service, the Security Rule applies.
In that case, the provider must meet all administrative, physical, and technical safeguards required under HIPAA. These include:
- Encryption for data in transit and at rest
- Access controls to restrict who can view or manage PHI
- Secure storage and backups for recordings or text archives
- Audit logs to track access and changes
- A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the provider handling PHI
What is a HIPAA-compliant phone service?
A HIPAA-compliant phone service is one designed to protect patient information used for calls, voicemails, or texts.
It ensures that data remains confidential, secure, and traceable under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.
That said, here’s what makes a phone service compliant.
It encrypts data in transit and at rest
Encryption keeps PHI safe as it moves between devices or sits in storage.
A HIPAA-compliant phone system, therefore, must encrypt calls, messages, and voicemails end-to-end using secure transmission protocols.
And the data should remain unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have authorized access, even if intercepted or stored on a compromised server.
It controls who can access PHI
A compliant phone service restricts access to authorized users only.
It operates in such a way that each user must have secure login credentials, and administrators are able to assign roles and permissions based on job duties.
Meanwhile, multi-factor authentication adds another layer of protection, further preventing unauthorized access to sensitive patient data.
It uses secure storage and management
A HIPAA-compliant phone service stores all call recordings, voicemails, and text logs on encrypted servers under strict security protocols.
In addition, it comes with robust backups to prevent data loss. The system also uses policies that align with healthcare recordkeeping requirements. That way, every file is traceable and protected from tampering or deletion.
It offers a signed BAA
A HIPAA-compliant phone service comes with a signed BAA as a commitment to safeguard PHI. The agreement outlines how the covered entity and the service provider share responsibility for maintaining privacy and security standards.
How to make a phone service HIPAA-compliant?
The last thing you want to do if you handle sensitive data is to use a phone system that’s not HIPAA compliant. Besides incurring hefty fines, you can also erode your clients' trust and affect your business’s bottom line.
That said, here’s a simple step-by-step process to make your phone service HIPAA compliant.
Step 1 — Choose a HIPAA-compliant phone service
Start by choosing a cloud phone system that meets HIPAA Security and Privacy Rule standards. The service should offer encryption, access controls, secure storage, and a signed BAA.
Step 2 — Sign a BAA
Sign a BAA with the provider before using their phone service to exchange patient information. Because that is the only way you can be sure that the provider takes shared responsibility regarding protecting PHI.
Step 3 — Enable encryption and secure logins
Activate encryption for all calls, voicemails, and texts. Make sure that the system requires every user to log in using unique credentials and multi-factor authentication. You want to ensure only authorized users can access PHI.
Step 4 — Implement role-based access control
Assign user roles based on job functions. For instance, receptionists, nurses, and physicians should each have defined access levels. When you limit access, you reduce the chance of accidental or unauthorized disclosures.
Step 5 — Set up data archiving and backups
Configure your phone system to store data on encrypted servers with automated backups. Archiving records ensures PHI remains available for audits or investigations while protecting it from tampering or deletion.
Step 6 — Train staff on PHI policies
Educate staff on what qualifies as PHI and how to handle it properly during phone calls, texts, or voicemails. In addition, conduct regular training to build awareness and minimize compliance risks from user error.
How does iPlum meet HIPAA compliance requirements for phone service?
iPlum is a HIPAA-compliant calling and texting cloud-based phone system.
Here’s how it aligns with HIPAA requirements, and what makes it a good choice if you’re keen on protecting patient data.
Secure calling, texting, voicemail, and data handling
iPlum offers encrypted calling, secure voicemail, and HIPAA-compliant texting.
It uses end-to-end encryption to ensure PHI data remains safe in transit and at rest, whether you make or receive calls over Wi-Fi, data, or your carrier's voice network.
In addition, iPlum offers a free client account that allows patients to exchange bi-directional text messages separate from SMS or MMS.
Only a handful of vendors offer this feature, making iPlum one of the best HIPAA-compliant text messaging apps on the market.
Separate business line
iPlum gives you a dedicated business phone number on your existing device.
That way, you can keep personal calls and texts separate from business, patient, or client communication. The separation further reduces the risk of exposing PHI accidentally via personal lines.
A signed BAA
iPlum offers a signed BAA for HIPAA compliance.
The BAA legally binds iPlum to treat PHI according to HIPAA standards when providing services like calling, texting, voicemail archiving, and secure messaging.
Admin controls and secure access management
iPlum supports role-based access and centralized administrative controls for practices with multiple users, such as clinics, medical offices, or therapy groups.
The setup allows admins to manage user permissions, add or remove users, and control who sees patient communications. By extension, that helps ensure only authorized staff access PHI.
Long-term data archiving and compliance-ready records
The iPlum Professional plan offers up to 12 months of text archiving. Meanwhile, the Enterprise plan allows you to archive call recordings and text for up to 10 years. The archiving makes it easier to provide records if needed under HIPAA audit or review.
Other iPlum features that support healthcare workflows
Beyond HIPAA-required security, iPlum includes innovative features to ease administrative workload in medical settings, including:
- Virtual phone tree with auto-attendant and unlimited extensions: Allows you to define multiple extensions for call routing to route calls to different staff or departments (e.g., front desk, billing, clinicians).
- Voicemail transcription: Lets you convert voicemail audio into text so you can read messages rather than listen.
- Option to port existing numbers: If a practice already has an established phone number, iPlum allows transferring (porting) that number into the iPlum system.
- Shared number: Enables multiple staff members to use the same business line. Each person can call, text, or access voicemails from their own device, keeping patient communication consistent even when one staff member is unavailable.
- Business hours: Allows you to set specific operating hours for your practice. Calls or texts outside these hours automatically go to voicemail or receive an after-hours message, helping you manage communication professionally.
- Text templates: Allows staff to save and reuse pre-written messages for reminders, confirmations, or updates, ensuring consistent communication and reducing manual effort.
Note: iPlum boasts 50+ features to streamline communication for users in regulated industries.
HIPAA-compliant phone service: frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is a HIPAA-compliant phone line?
A HIPAA-compliant phone line encrypts calls, texts, and voicemails, stores data securely, and restricts access. In addition, it operates under a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to protect patient information.
What is the best HIPAA-compliant phone service?
While there are several HIPAA-compliant apps, iPlum is the best HIPAA-compliant phone service if you're looking for true compliance.
Besides offering encrypted calls, secure texting, long-term archiving, admin controls, and a signed BAA, it also comes with a free client account for secure two-way messaging, separate from SMS and MMS.
Is iPhone-to-iPhone HIPAA compliant?
No, iPhone to iPhone is not HIPAA compliant. For starters, iPhone’s iMessage is not HIPAA compliant, and you shouldn't use it to relay PHI.
Experience true HIPAA compliance with iPlum
There’s more to data breaches than fines for your healthcare practice. They also cost you patient trust.
Every healthcare professional deserves a phone system that protects both. iPlum gives you that confidence.
The platform offers HIPAA-compliant messaging, secure calling, and voicemails. It also archives data securely for up to 10 years, and provides a signed BAA to keep professionals in the healthcare industry fully compliant.
With iPlum, you can manage electronic protected health information safely from your cell phone while maintaining a clear separation between personal and business lines.
Meanwhile, features like auto-attendant, text templates, shared numbers, and business hours make daily workflows easier to manage on both mobile devices and desktops.
Never leave compliance to chance.
Click the link below to get started with a phone service designed for HIPAA compliance from day one.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes and may not reflect the most current features or capabilities of the products or companies mentioned. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please refer to the official sources of each company.
