Finding the right tools to collect data in healthcare can be tricky, especially when you must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). You need to find HIPAA-compliant survey tools that are not only effective but secure as well.
We’ve made your search for secure healthcare survey tools easier by narrowing down the options. We’ll discuss several HIPAA-compliant survey tools available right now, ensuring your patient’s privacy and the safety of their healthcare information.
Top 5 HIPAA-Compliant Survey Tools
Checkbox
Checkbox is a top choice for healthcare data collection, offering many features. Its customizable security ensures that your respondents’ health information is kept safe throughout the survey.
However, not all plans include the required HIPAA security measures. Key protections like password lockout restrictions and data encryption are only available in their team and enterprise plans.
So, if you plan to use these features for transmitting or storing personal health information (PHI), you’ll need to upgrade your subscription.
Key Features:
- HIPAA, GDPR, and 508 compliant
- No-code visual editor
- Advanced branching and conditional question display
- Insightful data analysis
- Distribution of surveys through various digital channels like SMS, email, web, iFrame, and REST API
- Seamless API integration
Voxco
Voxco is a top-notch survey tool that follows HIPAA guidelines. It provides detailed insights while ensuring patient data is kept safe. It also provides real-time patient feedback with its comprehensive reporting capability. It facilitates your decision-making process and enhances patient experiences.
Key Features:
- Provides more than 100-question variants
- Inclusion of complex logic in surveys and supports multimedia elements
- Built-in translation capability
- Includes a Net Promoter Score Dashboard
- Mobile offline functionality
Jotform
When it comes to safe and HIPAA-compliant healthcare surveys, Jotform stands out. It prioritizes data security, ensuring your survey information remains protected and strictly for authorized eyes only.
Jotform offers fully adaptable templates. It lets you customize surveys to meet your healthcare institution’s specific requirements.
Additionally, Jotform provides enriched analytical reports, allowing users to extract meaningful insights from the captured responses. These reports can be crucial in your organization’s decision-making processes and policy development.
Key Features:
- Secure data handling
- Provides a BAA for healthcare organizations
- Audit trails
- Robust data storage in secure centers with 24-hour surveillance
- Regular HIPAA compliance updates
Qualtrics XM
Qualtrics XM earns its place among the best HIPAA-compliant survey solutions. Known for top-notch security, it treats patient data with the highest respect. With a wide range of features, it’s excellent for healthcare organizations, big and small. Its emphasis on experience management sets it apart, allowing you to craft highly personalized surveys.
With its high-end analytics, this tool turns feedback into usable information. Plus, it allows data collection even when you’re offline, which is great for remote or field research.
Key Features:
- Customizable surveys with pre-designed templates for those seeking a quick start
- Offers scalable solutions
- Ultimate listening functionality
- Tasks and workflow automation
- Compatibility with Google Analytics, Salesforce, Slack, and Adobe Analytics
- Security protocols like FedRAMP authorization, ISO27001, and HITRUST certifications
SurveySparrow
If you’re searching for an intuitively designed HIPAA-compliant survey tool, SurveySparrow should hit the spot. SurveySparrow ensures comprehensive security for sensitive patient data. It complies with the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield Frameworks, delivering a safe and reliable survey tool.
It also provides a great deal of customizability. This makes it possible for you to create a survey experience that matches your exact needs while still respecting the strict requirements of HIPAA.
Key Features:
- Supports survey types like chat surveys, NPS surveys, offline surveys, and 360 feedback surveys
- White-label surveys
- Offline surveys
- Integration with electronic health record (EHR) systems
- Collects feedback across different channels, including email, social media, web links, and QR codes
- Security protocols like Single Sign-On (SSO), SSL, IP safelisting, password protection, and custom domain security
Criteria for HIPAA-Compliant Survey Tools
When considering HIPAA-compliant survey tools, it’s essential to evaluate them based on the following criteria:
- Data encryption. The survey tool must always encrypt data to guard against unauthorized access.
- User access controls. Robust controls should allow only authorized personnel to access protected health information (PHI).
- Business associate agreement (BAA). The survey tool provider must be willing to sign a BAA, which is required under HIPAA regulations.
- Audit controls. The tool should have features that track and record activity within its system to help in auditing and ensuring compliance.
- Data integrity. The tool should guarantee the proper protection and handling of sensitive health information.
- Non-disclosure. The provider should guarantee they will not use your data for other purposes.
- Off-site backup. The service must ensure frequent and secure off-site backups to prevent data loss.
Best Practices for Secure Healthcare Surveys
When conducting safe healthcare surveys, it’s essential to adhere to the following best practices:
Use encrypted tools
Always use applications and services that employ multiple encryption mechanisms. It is a deterrent for any potential breaches of the transmitted data.
Implement user authentication
Establish a strong authentication process for users to avoid wrongful access to sensitive data.
Strictly manage access control
Ensure access to the survey data is strictly controlled—only grant permission to persons who need it.
Minimize data collection
Only collect information that is necessary for the survey. Extra data collection heightens the risk of exposure.
Update software regularly
Keep all software in use updated. It helps beef up security by fixing any vulnerabilities hackers may exploit.
Ensure audit-readiness
Use tools that provide an audit trail of all activities. It helps to detect unauthorized access whenever it occurs.
Back up data regularly
Regularly back up survey data to prevent loss from unforeseen circumstances.
Clarify privacy policies
Disclose how you intend to use the information collected from the survey participants.
The Crucial Role of Surveys in Healthcare
Surveys are critical in healthcare. They effectively bridge communication gaps between patients, healthcare workers, and administrators, collecting essential data and responses. They help gauge patient satisfaction and refine administrative procedures, significantly improving healthcare.
Patient satisfaction surveys can offer significant insights into the patient experience. It helps healthcare institutions measure the effectiveness of their services and identify improvement areas.
On the other hand, administrative surveys can reveal how effective the healthcare organization is. These surveys can provide insights into administrative and logistical issues, such as patient scheduling, record keeping, and billing processes.
In a regulatory context, surveys can assist medical facilities in maintaining compliance with guidelines and standards such as HIPAA.
