HIPAA eCommerce

Doctor, Pharmacist, & Patient Appointment Creation on Your Site

Updated  |  7 min read

Scheduling can be a tricky endeavor, especially when a doctor and patient have never met before. But when making a sale is reliant on both parties having a meeting in order to get approval, making the appointment process as simple as possible is a must. You also have to make sure that the doctor/patient portal is HIPAA compliant.

Healthcare Appointments

Making Healthcare Appointments Simple

Many types of healthcare eCommerce businesses can benefit from seamless, easy-to-use appointment creation software. The most common examples are:

  • Pharmacies – Many patients come to an online pharmacy with prescription in hand. Others know what they need but no longer have a PCP to write them prescriptions. Connecting a doctor and patient for a telehealth appointment is an excellent way to expedite the sale and make sure patients get the medications they need.
  • Medical Wearables – More devices than ever are Bluetooth enabled, collecting information and then transferring the information to a phone or computer. If a customer wants to purchase your device but needs a prescription to do so, letting them connect with a doctor through your site makes the process extremely convenient for them. You’ll also have to make sure the associated healthcare app is HIPAA compliant.
  • Medical Implantables – When someone is researching pacemakers online, they probably aren’t trying to decide which brand to get. But certain proprietary devices need to advertise to get public interest. Being able to connect potential patients with authorized surgeons and set up an appointment between the two is a solid first step to getting the patient the help they need.
  • Labs – Patients are notorious for putting off labs and imaging services. They’re much less likely to do so if you can offer them the ability to schedule an appointment directly from your site.

Integrating with Doctors’ Schedules

Ideally, the best scenario is to have the appointment creation option on your site to sync directly with the software the doctor, pharmacist, or healthcare provider is using. This might sound like an impossible task at first, but it is doable and very reliable.

doctor schedule integration
notification settings

Preparation and Reminders

It’s very important to make sure that both patients and doctors are attending an appointment fully prepared. Much of this can all be automated according to the appointment agenda. Patients need to make sure that their intake forms are filled out and that all prerequisite forms are complete and up to date, whether they’re on a HIPAA app or your HIPAA compliant portal. They also need to know what information to have on hand during the appointment. Doctors should be alerted to all necessary information that you have available about the patient.

Both parties will be able to see the details of the appointment. These include:

  • Time
  • Date
  • Venue (in-person, video chat, phone call)
  • Name of those attending

There will also be an option to cancel, reschedule, or start the video chat directly from your site.

Reminders are also an important part of the process. Patients and doctors will be sent reminders about the appointment. Each can choose how and when to receive these reminders, via email, text, phone, or app. Follow-up notifications can also be a part of the post-appointment experience.

appointment details
appointment options
find a doctor

Staying HIPAA Compliant

HIPAA website compliance should be just as much of a focus as the design and mapping you put into your site. If you don’t protect your ePHI, the fines associated with non-compliance—as well as the loss of respect with your customer—could be ruinous to your company.

When you are securing HIPAA-covered information via ePHI and EHR/EMR integration, it’s important to keep the following in mind:

  • Data must be secured and encrypted when it is in transit and when it is at rest.
  • Emails and texts should never include sensitive information. Instead, the message should send the patient to a secure portal.
  • Patient-doctor portals should require two-factor authentication to ensure the information stays secure.
  • Logging must occur every time information is accessed or changed.

HIPAA Experience Matters

Creating or upgrading a site that needs to be HIPAA compliant isn’t something that should be taken lightly. If you mess up a customer's order on a traditional eCommerce platform, you might lose their business. If you don’t properly secure a healthcare platform, you could lose your business.

Because security is such an important part of a website that collects ePHI, it’s vital to seek out a developer that has experience. An experienced HIPAA developer has seen the problems before and knows where many websites and portals fail. When so much is on the line, it warrants taking time to investigate the developer you choose to work with.

hipaa experts
hipaa discovery

No matter what developer you choose, Clarity is here to help. We have an extensive library of HIPAA information on this site that’s free to use. We also offer a complimentary discovery process to help you plan the next stage of your HIPAA compliant website journey. You can use this blueprint with us or take it to a developer that best meets your needs, it’s up to you. We care about this field and helping healthcare providers protect their reputation. Get in touch with us for some free advice!

 

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Author
 
Stephen Beer is a Content Writer at Clarity Ventures and has written about various tech industries for nearly a decade. He is determined to demystify HIPAA, integration, and eCommerce with easy-to-read, easy-to-understand articles to help businesses make the best decisions.