Respond to health care reviews online without violating HIPAA

For most business owners, responding to negative reviews left online by irate customers is simply a matter of replying directly to the reviews themselves. For medical practitioners, though, this process is complicated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA requires medical professionals to go through a lengthier medical reputation management process to manage and maintain their reputations online.

While dealing with negative reviews can be a little hairy, the good news is there’s a right way to respond.

Why should you care about HIPAA when responding to reviews?

We all know HIPAA protects the confidentiality of patients’ medical information. Under HIPAA, medical professionals cannot share a patient’s protected medical information. This includes medical history and identifying information, unless the patient provides explicit written consent. To disclose this information without consent constitutes a HIPAA violation.

While HIPAA provides an essential protection to patients, it also creates a unique challenge for health care providers trying to protect their medical reputation.