Nothing to see here. Carry on. That was more or less the takeaway from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services a little more than one week after the Health Care Compliance Association issued a report that two hospitals had received emails from CMS warning them that texting is not permitted, including secure text messaging applications.
Healthcare lawyer Nathaniel Lacktman, who is a partner and chair of the telemedicine and virtual care practice at Foley & Lardner, wrote in a LinkedIn post that a new letter from CMS this week reflects the Joint Commission’s position banning text messaging for patient care orders.
Summarizing the CMS letter, Lacktman noted that CMS said texting patient information among members of the healthcare team is OK if it is done through a secure platform. Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) is the preferred method of order entry by a provider. But texting patient orders is not allowed no matter what platform is used.
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In the memo to state survey agency directors, CMS acknowledged the importance of text messaging but emphasized the need for security:
CMS recognizes that the use of texting as a means of communication with other members of the healthcare team has become an essential and valuable means of communication among the team members… It is expected that providers/organizations will implement procedures/processes that routinely assess the security and integrity of the texting systems/platforms that are being utilized, in order to avoid negative outcomes that could compromise the care of patients.
The Joint Commission has switched its stance a few times on physicians use of text messaging, mHealth Intelligence noted. Last year the Joint Commission lifted a ban after five years, only to reinstate it. But the Joint Commission came out with new guidance at the end of last year permitting text messaging for physicians but continuing to bar text messaging for patient orders.
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