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Tuesday Telehealth Tip: Choosing a Platform That's Actually Secure

Week 2: The HIPAA & Trust Series

Last week we talked about the room — camera, mic, lighting, backgrounds. This week we're moving to the platform itself, because this is where a lot of well-meaning practices get tripped up.

Week 1: Setting up your Telehealth space Week 2 (today): HIPAA-compliant platforms Week 3: What patients actually notice in the first five minutes Week 4: Documentation, data, and emergency protocols

"HIPAA-Compliant" Is a Feature, Not a Guarantee

Most major video platforms now offer a "HIPAA-compliant" tier. That's genuinely good news — it means the tools exist. But offering the feature and having it properly configured for your practice are two different things.

Here's the piece that catches people off guard: a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your platform is the foundation, not the finish line. Many Video Conferencing providers offer BAAs for their healthcare tiers — but signing one doesn't automatically lock down every setting on your account.

Three Things to Actually Check

• Is the BAA signed and on file? Not just "available" — actually executed for your account. Free or personal tiers of these platforms almost never qualify, even if the software looks identical.
• Is encryption on by default? End-to-end encryption should be the standard setting for every session, not something you have to remember to toggle on.
• Who else has access? Recording storage, chat logs, and waiting room data all need to live somewhere secure — and someone (probably you) needs to know where that "somewhere" is.

A Simple Way to Think About It

A HIPAA-compliant platform is like a house with good locks. The locks being available doesn't help if the door's left open. Compliant settings only protect your patients if they're actually turned on and used consistently, session after session.

Two-Minute Platform Checklist

• BAA signed and on file for your account tier
• Encryption confirmed as the default, not an opt-in
• Waiting room or verification step enabled
• Recording and chat storage location known and secured
• Staff or co-providers using the same settings you are

Want a second set of eyes on your specific platform setup? We offer free one-on-one consultations to walk through exactly this.

​Book Your Free Telehealth Consultation Here​

If you know a colleague getting started with Telehealth or unsure about their current setup, feel free to forward this along. The more practices get this right, the safer it is for patients everywhere.

Next week: what patients actually notice in the first five minutes of a session — consent, verification, and the small things that build or break trust fast.

Talk soon, Dan

P.S. Missed Week 1? Catch up on setting up a space patients trust, and see all our past Telehealth Tips at futureofhealthnow.com​

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Also: Want to go back and look at our previous Telehealth Tips? Click Here​