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In the digital practice — where sensitive business and patient information is stored electronically — ransomware is one of the most devastating forms of malware. It works by encrypting or blocking access to sensitive files and demanding payment to restore access.¹ The loss to a healthcare practice — and its patients if medical records access is blocked — could be devastating. If the attack is successful, it is nearly impossible to recover the data without paying the ransom.

A 2023 survey found that more than a third of U.S. adults—40%—use health apps to achieve fitness goals and track their health, an increase of 6% since 2018, while more than a third use wearables, an increase of 8% since 2018.¹ On the clinical side, roughly a third of physicians, residents, and medical students believe data from consumer health apps and wearables—aka, mHealth—can be very beneficial to patients but they also feel largely unprepared to incorporate it into their practice.²

Text messaging has changed the way we communicate with each other. Like most people, healthcare team members use their mobile devices at work,^1,2,3 and texting about patients is common.⁴ Texting with patients and other members of the healthcare team has risks and benefits.

Texting protected health information (PHI) without proper safety and encryption processes in place could result in HIPAA/HITECH violations, and noncompliance with CMS and accreditation requirements for secure text messaging, and violation of state medical information confidentiality laws. Because PHI goes where the phone goes, ensuring the privacy and security of PHI sent by text messaging can be challenging.

Texting presents unique communication challenges. The brevity and casual nature of text communication that makes it convenient can also make it inappropriate in a healthcare setting. One key to using text messaging in healthcare is to know when an in-person or telephone conversation is necessary. Telephone conversations allow for important information to be exchanged with greater ease, and a more natural opportunity for questions and responses.