Medical flight services demand that the organization providing it coordinates with several agencies to bring the patient a seamless experience. This includes coordinating with ground staff, last-mile transportation to the hospital, contacting the receiving hospital, coordinating with local authorities, the list goes on. Amid all this, there is always the possibility of a data leak. Sensitive health data pertaining to the patient may fall into the hands of undesirable sources and lead to legal complications. Of course, the biggest concern for the medical flight services would be to remain in compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA. The act guides how and when data can be shared and patient consent requirements.
Application Programming Interface Can Help Medical Flight Services
Data transfer through an application programming interface, popularly known as API is ideal for medical flight services. Here the data transfer takes place between two computer systems without any manual intervention. Moreover, the data transfer takes place in an encrypted format, which makes data leaks impossible. It is a sure-shot way to ensure that a company that is involved in offering air ambulance services is shielded from the possible negative implications as a consequence of not following HIPAA rules inadvertently.
Training the Staff is Also Important
Building strong technology is important no doubt but that does not mean that the human element is ignored. Air ambulance services employ several people. These people may come in contact with patient data in one way or the other. For instance, the patient medical history in a document form is a necessity for in-flight care of the patient. It is, therefore, imperative that the staff is well aware of what constitutes sensitive data and how to handle it. Even a casual conversation about the patient with the wrong person can lead to legal hassles for the organization that offers medical flight services.
