Ind. Admin. Code tit. 844, r. 5-3-4 – Electronic communications

Sec. 4. (a) Written policies and procedures must be maintained by the physician for the use of patient-physician electronic mail. Such policies and procedures must address the following:

(1) Privacy.
(2) Health care personnel (in addition to the physician addressee) who will process messages.
(3) Hours of operation.
(4) Types of transactions that will be permitted electronically.
(5) Required patient information to be included in the communication, such as patient name, identification number, and type of transaction.
(6) Archival and retrieval of patient medical data.
(7) Quality oversight mechanisms.
(8) Protocol to be followed in emergency situations.

(b) Policies and procedures must be periodically evaluated for currency and maintained in an accessible and readily available manner for review.

(c) Sufficient security measures must be in place and documented to assure confidentiality and integrity of patient-identifiable information. Transmissions, including patient e-mail, prescriptions, and laboratory results must be secure within existing technology, that is, password protected, encrypted electronic prescriptions, or other reliable authentication techniques.

(d) Patient-physician e-mail pertinent to the ongoing care of the patient, as well as other patient-related electronic communications, must be maintained as part of, and integrated into, the patient's medical record, whether that record is paper or electronic.

(e) Turnaround time shall be established for patient-physician e-mail and medical practice sites must clearly indicate alternative form or forms of communication for urgent matters.

(f) E-mail systems must be configured to include an automatic reply to acknowledge message delivery and that messages have been read. Patients must be encouraged to confirm that they have received and read messages.

(Medical Licensing Board of Indiana; 844 IAC 5-3-4; filed Oct 1, 2003, 9:32 a.m.: 27 IR 523; readopted filed Dec 1, 2009, 9:13 a.m.: 20091223-IR- 844090779RFA; readopted filed Jun 16, 2010, 12:14 p.m.: 20100630-IR-844090779RFA; readopted filed Nov 22, 2016, 12:11 p.m.: 20161221-IR-844160317RFA; readopted filed Nov 22, 2022, 12:22 p.m.: 20221221-IR-844220255RFA; readopted filed Feb 27, 2024, 10:19 a.m.: 20240327-IR-844230772RFA)