New US Healthcare Legislation Makes Call Recording Non-Negotiable

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have introduced new guidelines on call recording that directly impact healthcare professionals, insurance vendors, and the healthcare industry in the US.

The CMS Final Rule 2023 was put into effect in September 2022 and applies to enrolments from 1 January 2023.  

It is understood that the new regulations are aimed at reducing the mis-sale of products, including by third-party marketing organizations (TPMOs).

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What are the new CMS call recording requirements?

The new call recording requirement applies to all healthcare agents who enroll beneficiaries in new plans, including both new and existing clients.  

• Enrolment includes all points of contact from awareness to completion of sale
• Call recording includes all types of video calls and walkthroughs/screen-sharing
• If clients do not wish to be recorded, the call must end
• A verbal disclaimer must be included on every call (may be pre-recorded)
• Call recordings must be stored in a HIPAA-compliant manner for at least 10 years

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What is HIPAA compliant storage?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires sensitive patient information to be kept secure and confidential. This applies to healthcare vendors and any third-party software providers.

• Call recordings must be stored in an encrypted format
• Access to records must be controlled
• Audits should ensure these standards are maintained
• Policy agreements ensure each party maintains compliance and security

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The limits of manual call recording

Whilst an organization could manually record their calls and store them, the requirement to store them for 10+ years makes this a challenge. Relying on internal servers and manual organization to store them in a HIPAA-compliant manner quickly becomes a nightmare and encryption isn’t even a feature on many native recorders.  

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How can Oak help?

Clarify is an integrated compliant recording and storage solution. Each recording is encrypted and can be stored in your own data center or cloud service. Access is controlled on a per user basis and any HIPAA-related activity can be reported on.  

For Microsoft Teams users, ClarifyGo is a cloud-based version of Clarify that keeps all records safely in Microsoft Azure so you needn’t involve an additional storage partner.

For more information, contact our Account Managers today sales@oakinnovate.com  

Visit the CMS website for further details on the Final Rule 2023 and call recording.

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