Health Information Management

Tip: Make HIPAA a part of your facility's PR effort

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, March 7, 2003

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Staff members aren't the only people you may want to educate about HIPAA. Informing the public about your facility's compliance efforts could give you a business edge as long as you position the message appropriately and combine it with other consumer-oriented communications. But don't make the mistake of assuming that the average patient even knows what HIPAA is.

The words "HIPAA-compliant" will not resonate with most patients because they're probably not familiar with the terminology, says Jack Segal, senior vice president of the health practice in the Chicago office of Edelman, a worldwide public relations firm, and former director of public relations for the American Health Information Management Association.

"High-quality care will always be the best marketing tool for any institution," he says. "Many consumers believe patient care has lost its personal touch, however. That makes it important to have effective systems in place to improve the administrative aspects of patient experiences, including systems for ensuring the confidentiality of health information. Marketing these systems could help position your institution in a competitive market."

Go to http://www.himinfo.com/news/tip/ for tips for marketing HIPAA compliance.



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