HIPAA Compliant Healthcare Mailing Services

Managing data and processes in compliance with HIPAA is challenging for many healthcare companies. Some use automation tools for a few tasks but still need a HIPAA-compliant mail service for secure patient correspondence. 

They might have some myths about direct mailing, like

• Outsourcing mail tasks is illegal for the healthcare industry. 
• Healthcare companies and associate businesses can handle print and mail in-house. 
• Achieving HIPAA compliance when printing and shipping items can be complex. 

Modern-day HIPAA-compliant mailing services are bursting these bubbles with effective, speedy, and safe solutions.

They provide the best alternative to in-house mailing when ensuring compliant fulfillment. The good news is that your organization can send different documents and marketing collateral using this option!

Keep reading to get more details!

The primary goal of working with a HIPAA-compliant printing partner is to guarantee data privacy and safety. Many companies consider it a legal obligation, but it is more than that! Sending mailers under the HIPAA rules is also an ethical requirement for an organization’s survival and growth!

Also, every violation can cost you up to $25,000 per calendar year. It makes healthcare companies more alert about their functional and other tasks.

HIPAA applies everywhere, from a patient’s phone call and consultation to transmitting their details to a specialist. You can manage them yourself, but what about activities like direct mailing?

A HIPAA-compliant mailing partner lets you prepare, print, and distribute your items without the risk of a data breach or penalty. You also sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with these vendors to ensure you are legally protected if a problem arises.

PostGrid’s print and mail API offers these features to all clients, helping them use this offline communication channel confidently. Our HIPAA-compliant printing and mailing services back up all processes with current and trackable security practices. Contact us to learn more!

Responsibilities of a HIPAA-Compliant Mail Service Provider

Print and mail vendors must protect clients’ databases throughout the mailing campaign. They should have a built-in framework to process patient data and prepare items under HIPAA regulations.

Most HIPAA-compliant mailing services work with professionals to oversee procedures and conduct frequent audits.

Other responsibilities of the vendors include only working with compliant commercial printers and courier services.

PostGrid provides end-to-end fulfillment, prioritizing these prerequisites for all clients. We only associate with reputed printing partners who align with our quality and safety goals. Also, we only use USPS delivery options because postal mail is lawfully-protected and offers better confidentiality.

Our HIPAA-compliant mail services help healthcare organizations improve brand image and visibility while respecting patients’ privacy.

Other responsibilities of HIPAA-compliant mail services providers include

• Monitor order status from when you provide your data for mail preparation to delivery.
• Rigid security processes, like restricted access and encryption.
• Physical security of data files and mail pieces.
• Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMBs).
• HITRUST certification.

If you are looking for an automated solution that strives to achieve these goals, look no further. Drop an email at [email protected] to get in touch now!

Typical HIPAA Violations Most Companies Miss to Notice

A HIPAA violation can happen anywhere within your company and at any time. Planning a mail marketing campaign or sending patient documents is challenging for healthcare companies. Employing HIPAA-compliant mailing services in Minnesota can be a lifesaver for this industry!

To give you a better idea, here are some common HIPAA violations that cause most organizations to face legal action.

• Healthcare record mishandling (even if it is a single record of one patient).
• Disclosing inaccurate patient data.
• Improper PHI disposal, both physical and electronic.
• Failing to authorize record sharing.
• Sending mailers with PHI to incorrect delivery addresses.
• Using unencrypted tech tools.

Please ensure your HIPAA-compliant mail service company helps you achieve accuracy and data safety at every stage. It must be up-to-date with the current laws, irrespective of your mailing volume, location, or timeline.

PostGrid’s HIPAA-compliant printing and mailing services help you flexibly plan your campaigns.

You can use our print and mail API to send patient documents or marketing materials quickly.

Below, we discuss the use cases of our solutions to give you a better understanding.

Create and Ship Mandated Patient Correspondence Under HIPAA

Also, you can use PostGrid to send compliance mailers, like

• Insurance claim notices
• Data breach notifications
• Explanation of Coverage (EOB)
• Privacy policies sheet
• Healthcare information collection notices, and more.

Organizations can draft a letter or notice using our pre-built templates or upload their files. PostGrid’s HIPAA-compliant mail services enable them to personalize the document for every recipient, add branding, and process the letters.

They can rest assured that their mail items containing sensitive information will reach the addressed recipients without problems.

Our HIPAA-compliant mailing solutions also let you ship transactional mail, including

• Patient statements
• Invoices
• Bills
• Discharge summaries
• Transfer letters

Imagine that your dental office or physician clinic treats 2,000 patients monthly.

Most patients visit you for routine checkups as part of their ongoing treatment. A HIPAA-compliant mailing partner lets your staff automate statement printing and mailing at the click of a button.

Thus, you can instruct them to do other tasks instead of manual activities that don’t need them. Also, they can send other documents online, like an insurance claim report or receipt.

Our on-demand and bulk HIPAA-compliant mailing services ensure you mail any volume of mailers anywhere and whenever needed.

This flexibility lets a business succeed while working within legal frameworks and avoiding penalties.

Send Healthcare Direct Mail Marketing Items

Healthcare direct mail does not stop at transactional and compliance mailings. Firms can conduct HIPAA-compliant marketing campaigns to get and retain patients.

But marketing can be daunting for healthcare companies! Also, they may not have the data, personalization tools, and other resources to send promotional mailers.

How does a HIPAA-compliant mailing service help in these cases?

PostGrid’s HIPAA-compliant mail service lets you.

• Build a healthcare direct mailing list based on demographics. You can get custom lists to launch campaigns targeting new or existing audiences.
• Add variable data to all mailers to grab the audience’s attention.
• Customize templates and create eye-catching artwork.
• Print items in high quality and complete data safety.
• Presort mail for better postage rates and fast deliveries.
• Get USPS mailing fulfillment and tracking.

These features or benefits let you send marketing mail that guarantees high responses. Here are some use cases:

• Patient welcome letters: Patients value healthcare providers who care about their well-being. You can go beyond formal health-related communications and send them a welcome letter when they first visit you. Use our HIPAA-compliant printing and mailing services to be proactive and onboard every patient, making them feel special.
• Missed-appointment letters: Send a no-show letter to patients when they miss a consultation session with you. It lets you win back people who may have switched providers or dropped their treatment.
• Nurse appreciation letters: Our HIPAA-compliant mail services enable organizations to maintain a healthy work environment by sending appreciation mail to employees. They can send small-sized postcards or handwritten letters to express gratitude and motivate staff to perform their best.
• Newsletters: Draft and send monthly newsletters to your audience to display industry knowledge and establish authority.
• Holiday postcards: Send birthday, anniversary, or holiday greetings via a HIPAA-compliant mail service to stay connected with your audience.

Direct mail is not limited to a single item for standalone purposes. It extends to all patient communications and is a part of your overall functions. PostGrid’s HIPAA-compliant mailing services help you get the most out of this channel with immense benefits!

Shipping HIPAA-compliant mailers is a process with several steps from start to finish. To ensure compliance, you must pay attention to every detail and instruct all team members to follow the guidelines.

Your company may need to draft a policy on preparing and distributing mailers under HIPAA. Please remember to update policies, conduct training sessions, and use new technology to get on board.

Without employing a HIPAA-compliant mailing company, you must make an extra effort to avoid fines and legalities.

Here are some tips to follow:

Send Items Via First-Class Mail

HIPAA needs you to ship all items containing PHI via USPS First-Class Mail. It is costlier than Standard Mail but ensures mail security and deliverability.

You can use PostGrid’s HIPAA-compliant mail services to mail your items at low rates and prevent mail returns.

Set Up Event-Based Triggers

An automated HIPAA-compliant mail service like PostGrid integrates with your systems to send triggered mailers. You may set specific digital events, like website visits, patient registrations, and invoice generation, to ship automatic mailings.

Use Sturdy Packaging to Conceal Mail Contents

HIPAA does not mandate using specific envelope types for your mailings. But using sturdy, non-transparent packaging would be best to avoid breaching your data’s privacy.

Partner With a Print and Mail Expert

You can guarantee accuracy, timeliness, and security when outsourcing to HIPAA-compliant printing and mailing services like ours. They are industry experts that work with a compliant PDN (print delivery network) to let you confidently send direct mail.

Partnering with PostGrid allows you to replace traditional tasks with advanced and efficient processes.

A HIPAA-compliant mail service partner offers many benefits, like cost savings and speed.

Let us compare in-house and outsourced mailing to see what works best.

Tasks	In-House Print and Mail	Outsourcing Print and Mail
Data management	Admin staff may manually confirm patients’ delivery addresses.	A HIPAA-compliant mail service verifies every address automatically.
Preparing documents	Your staff manually prepares documents, which can lead to errors and HIPAA violations.	API integrations lets you auto-fill documents with accurate data from your system.
Personalizing mail	It is tedious to personalize mail for thousands of patients when mailing in-house.	The HIPAA-compliant printing solutions let you personalize mail online without extra effort.
Print and mail fulfillment	Without a HIPAA-compliant mail service, you need high-end printers, more staff members, and investment.	Outsourcing to HIPAA-compliant mailing services lets you complete the task online without buying equipment or hiring staff.
Tracking	You must enter the tracking number from the receipt for every item to check its status.	You can visit the dashboard and get an overview whenever needed.
Overall alignment and efficiency	High costs.  More team members for a single job. Reduced productivity.	Low costs.  High efficiency.  Quick deliveries.  Complete HIPAA compliance.

In-house mailing is always an option but can affect your internal tasks and service quality. A HIPAA-compliant mail service partner converts these potential shortcomings into effective processes. Hence, you can focus more on getting patients and treating them, boosting referrals and your brand’s reputation.

Also Read: Print and Mail Documents Online

PostGrid serves many clients in the healthcare industry, from hospitals and insurance companies to managed care centers and others.

Here are some success stories to let you get a glimpse:

#1 How We Helped a Multi-Speciality Hospital Automate Print and Mail

One of our clients, who ran a multi-specialty hospital in Seattle, sent compliance mail daily to thousands of patients.

It had a printing and mailroom team to ensure they prepared and sent the documents on time. Yet it often ran into manual mistakes, delays, and returned mail.

Then, it finally decided to employ HIPAA-compliant mailing services to assist them in sending mailers according to the regulations.

One of their compliance officers contacted us to inquire about our print and mail API. They had clear goals and wanted to learn whether we could help fulfill them.

And the answer was yes!

Here are the goals and how our HIPAA-compliant mail service helped:

• Reduce time for preparing and printing mailers from 250 hours monthly to a few hours. Our HIPAA-compliant mail services helped them eliminate manual labor, reducing the required time. Today, they only spend a few minutes daily to automate mailings using our API.
• Document the time and date when they send every mail item. Again, PostGrid’s automated print and mail service allowed the organization to store accurate and timely records for HIPAA compliance.
• Send data-driven, intelligent mail. The company’s first campaign with PostGrid focused on completed compliance mailings. But it also started sending custom marketing items for patient retention using our HIPAA-compliant printing solutions.

“PostGrid allowed us to unlock new possibilities in the print and mail section. We can now rely on technology to do our job, so we can focus elsewhere and take our organization to new heights.”

#2 How a Medicare Advantage Provider Shifted From Generic Mailings to High-Engagement Campaigns

At PostGrid, we recently met a client during an event and discussed today’s different marketing channels. Though the company primarily invested in digital marketing, it did not use direct mail.

The reason? “We don’t want to risk our data integrity by sending mail.”

The company’s primary concern was HIPAA compliance, though sales were dropping, and it was hunting for marketing ideas.

After a brief discussion, the organization’s representative decided to give our HIPAA-compliant mail services a go! They integrated our print and mail API into their CRM to initiate the campaigns.

The result? They were impressed with the process, from the BAA to the user roles and permissions to restrict access. Our Enterprise Plan enabled them to scale the HIPAA-compliant mailing services by sending over 5,000 mailers monthly.

They shipped their items using Certified Mail to get the recipient’s signature and enhance mail security.

Our turnkey print and mail services let healthcare companies transform offline mailing and embrace technology. With our industry-best SLAs, they can prepare and print items online within two business days.

Some of our distinct features include:

• Address autocomplete and validation
• Triggered mail
• Bulk mail
• Template creation
• List compilation
• 24 x 7 customer support
• Detailed API docs
• Flexible pricing

Book a demo to learn more about how you can benefit from your HIPAA-compliant mailing services!