What Are HIPAA Call Recording Requirements in 2025?

In 2024, data breaches left over 422 million records exposed worldwide*. Healthcare providers were the third most targeted group. Which begs the question, how well is your system set up for call recording compliance?

In 2024, data breaches left over 422 million records exposed worldwide*. Healthcare providers were the third most targeted group. Which begs the question, how well is your system set up for call recording compliance?

When recording conversations with patients or about their care, these recordings are protected under HIPAA. This all comes before you start recording. You must get express consent from your patients and explain why the recordings are necessary and how they will be used. 

All recordings must be securely stored to protect patient privacy. This guide has everything you need to know about HIPAA call recording requirements in 2025. 

Key Takeaways:

• HIPAA mandates strict security protocols for call recordings, requiring healthcare providers to safeguard patient data at all times.
• Patient consent is a legal must-have. Recording calls without clear authorization can lead to serious HIPAA violations and penalties.
• Encryption, secure storage, and access controls are essential to prevent breaches and unauthorized access to recorded calls.
• Third-party vendors handling PHI must comply. Business Associates are legally required to sign a HIPAA-compliant BAA to ensure data protection.

What is a HIPAA Compliant Call Center?

Do you operate a healthcare provider, clearinghouse, or health plan based in the U.S.? Then it’s essential for you and everyone involved with your data to comply with HIPAA regulations. The requirements also extend to your call centers, even if they are located elsewhere.

If you outsource your call center operations to a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm, they need to comply with HIPAA standards. It means that all related vendors you are working with, including call center software providers, must rigorously follow HIPAA compliance guidelines.

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It’s about how you manage and protect your patients’ health information. The information may be about a person’s health status, provision of healthcare, or payment for healthcare.

HIPAA makes sure that your patients’ PHI (Protected Health Information) is kept private and secure across all healthcare systems, no matter if it is stored on paper or electronically. This law centers around two key rules: the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule. 

• The Privacy Rule protects PHI usage and disclosure, granting patients the right to access and correct their health records. As a healthcare provider, you’re responsible for managing PHI with maximum confidentiality.
• The Security Rule focuses on electronic PHI (ePHI). The rule mandates strong physical, technical, and administrative security measures, such as encryption and secure access controls.

Under HIPAA, standard healthcare activities are typically covered under assumed consent. Essentially, they don’t need to ask your permission every time they need to reach out to patients. Here are some instances: 

• Conversations about treatment options
• Routine health examinations
• Organizing and reminding about appointments
• Communicating outcomes of medical tests
• Instructions before surgery and following discharge
• Updates on medication prescriptions
• Guidelines for care at home
• Tasks related to pre-registering at the hospital

How Does HIPAA Apply to Call Recording?

Recording patients’ phone calls is simple enough, but is it legal? You might record these calls for reasons like protecting against malpractice or improving medical records. However, the legality of these recordings depends on specific state laws and healthcare regulations.

Laws about Telephone Recordings and Consent

The rules for recording phone calls differ from state to state. For instance, New York, Texas, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia follow “one-party consent” laws, where only one person involved in the conversation needs to give their consent to record. 

States like Illinois, California, and Michigan are “all-party consent” states, requiring every participant in the call to agree to the recording**. It’s particularly important for private or confidential conversations. That means recording without consent in these states would be illegal.

Consent Laws and HIPAA-Compliant Phone Calls

Do you use telehealth providers that operate across states with different consent laws? They face even more stringent all-party consent rules if the states’ laws vary. The best way to manage consent laws is by developing straightforward consent protocols. 

Options might include having patients sign a consent form acknowledging the recording of calls or using a pre-call announcement to explain recording practices. Even in one-party consent states, it’s a smart practice for healthcare providers to proactively seek clear consent from patients. 

Doing so meets legal standards for HIPAA-compliant phone calls. Additionally, it’s an opportunity to clearly explain why the calls are recorded, how the recordings will be handled, and how patients can access these recordings if they wish. 

HIPAA Considerations for Recorded Calls

When a patient consents to a recorded call, chances are they share private information. That’s why the recording is also considered Protected Health Information (PHI) and falls under HIPAA regulations. 

Healthcare providers must then use HIPAA-compliant recording apps. They may need to sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with any third-party service providers to ensure the PHI’s security and privacy are upheld throughout the process.

Who Needs to Comply with HIPAA Call Recording Rules?

Telehealth usage has leveled off but it’s still 38 times higher than it was before the pandemic hit***.  With many healthcare communications happening through digital interactions, it’s important to stick to HIPAA call recording rules. Let’s take a look at who needs to follow these guidelines:

Covered Entities

If you’re part of the healthcare industry, chances are you need to comply with HIPAA call recording rules. This encompasses a broad range of providers like doctors, clinics, psychologists, dentists, and even chiropractors and nursing homes. 

It covers health plans such as health insurance companies, HMOs, company health plans, and government healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Besides, healthcare clearinghouses that standardize the health information they receive also need to follow these rules.

Business Associates

Third-party contractors, such as call centers, VoIP providers, and other vendors who handle patient data on behalf of covered entities, are required to comply with HIPAA regulations. 

These business associates play a role in treatment, payment, and operational support. Consequently, they must ensure that their practices are up to par with HIPAA rules so that they can protect patient information.

Other Organizations

Any organization that handles PHI falls under HIPAA regulations, regardless of the volume of data involved. What matters is the nature of the data. For example, compliance with HIPAA is a must for all forms of storing, transcribing, or sharing recorded patient calls.

The regulations go beyond just healthcare providers and insurers, and extend to any service that works with PHI. These organizations need to maintain both confidentiality and integrity in every aspect of their operations that involve patient data.

Key Compliance Factors in Call Recording

Call recording in healthcare can help capture crucial details that might be missed during patient interactions. However, it’s important to maintain compliance in this process. Here are key compliance factors to consider when recording calls in healthcare settings:

Secure Storage and Encryption
When you record calls that include PHI, you need to keep those recordings secured and encrypted. If someone does get their hands on them, they won’t be able to understand anything without the decryption key. 

Patient Consent Requirements
Before you hit that record button, make sure to get clear consent from your patient. They should fully understand what information you’re recording, how it’ll be used, who might listen to it, and why you need it. 

Access Controls and Audit Logs
You’ll want to make sure that only the right people can get their hands on these recordings. Setting up strict access controls can help prevent any unauthorized snooping. Also, keeping detailed audit logs lets you see exactly who accessed what information, while helping you spot any suspicious activity.

Data Retention Policies
HIPAA might not tell you exactly how long to keep those call recordings. However, it does say you need a plan for how long to hold onto them and how to safely get rid of them when the time comes. Your policies should clearly outline how long you keep recordings and how you securely delete them.

Key HIPAA Call Recording Requirements

Call recording holds all parties accountable to what they’ve said, while adding clarity to healthcare processes. Recording conversations with patients also provides evidence to ensure standards are enforced and evaluate opportunities for improvement. But what are the HIPAA Call Recording Requirements?

Under HIPAA, any voice recordings of patients are considered health information and must be protected. Recordings must not be made without patient consent with no exceptions. Always choose a call center solution that doesn’t automatically record calls and that gives you the flexibility to disable recording. 

Patient Consent Requirements

Although HIPAA doesn’t specifically require you to get consent to record calls with PHI, it’s really important to follow state laws because they can differ a lot from one place to another. Generally, they can be categorized into one-party vs. two-party consent states.

In one-party consent states only one person involved in the call, typically the recorder, needs to agree to the recording. Healthcare providers in these states can legally record calls as long as they themselves consent to the recording.

Two-party (or all-party) consent states require that every participant in the conversation must consent to the recording. States such as California, Florida, and Illinois are examples where all-party consent is required.

Wondering how to obtain and document patient consent for compliant call recording? This table shows all the factors you need to take into consideration.

Audit and Review: Periodically audit recorded calls and consent documentation practices to ensure compliance and address any potential gaps.

Securing Your Recorded Calls with Encryption

What does secure call recording look like?  Here’s a straightforward guide on securing your recorded calls and ensuring that only the right eyes and ears have access to them.

Step 1: Implementing End-to-End Encryption for Recorded Calls

Encryption turns your audio recordings into a secure format that only authorized persons can access. This also means when transmitting them over networks that might be vulnerable to eavesdropping. Here’s how to do it:

• During Transmission: Any call recording system you use encrypts data before it leaves the device and stays encrypted until it reaches its final storage destination. 
• During Storage: Once your calls are recorded, encrypt them immediately before storing them in your systems. It includes all the files that are on cloud storage or your own internal servers.

Step 2: Make Sure to Have Total Access Controls

Implementing role-based access controls makes sure that only employees who need to listen to these recordings for their work can do so. For instance, strengthen security with multi-factor authentication (MFA). 

Step 3: Add Physical and Technical Safeguards

Start by securing the premises. Don’t overlook physical security. Use locks, biometric scanners, and secure areas to prevent unauthorized physical access to systems where recorded calls are stored. Also, all your systems must have strong passwords and also regularly update them. 

Step 4: Know Your Data Flow

Make it a policy to provide only the minimum necessary information to those who need it for specific tasks. The policy limits the amount of PHI exposed and reduces the risk of unauthorized access.

Access Controls & Audit Logs

Role-based access control is a great barrier for limiting access to sensitive recorded calls. This strategy helps prevent unauthorized access. How to implement it?

• Define roles: Clearly define roles within your healthcare practice and assign access levels based on the sensitivity of the PHI and the necessity of the role.
• Control access: Set up permissions so that only designated roles can access specific types of recorded PHI. For example, some employees can listen to recordings but cannot download or share them.

Keeping a detailed log of who accessed or modified recorded calls and when they did so is another cornerstone of PHI security. These logs let you track usage and pinpoint any potential unauthorized access. For running effective audit logs, make sure to:

• Record which employee accessed the PHI;
• Note what actions were taken;
• Log when each activity occurred to provide a clear timeline.

Managing HIPAA Compliant Call Recording Retention and Security

Always be aware of and comply with any state-specific regulations regarding how long medical recordings should be kept. Once these retention periods expire, you should securely dispose of the PHI. Here are some best practices for PHI disposal:

• Use software designed to permanently delete digital records, so that they cannot be recovered.
• For physical media like tapes or CDs, employ methods such as shredding or incineration.

Third-Party Vendors with HIPAA Compliant Business Associate Agreements (BAAs)

Let’s say you use a call center software to contact patients. First off, it should offer a HIPAA-compliant BAA agreement. Before signing a BAA, however, you need to verify that the call recording provider complies with HIPAA rules.

Under HIPAA, covered entities need to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with their partners before sharing any PHI. This agreement should address several critical points to make sure everyone involved understands their responsibilities. A well-crafted BAA should:

• Clearly define what PHI can be used for, detailing the specific services the business associate will provide.
• Stipulate that the business associate will use appropriate safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the PHI.
• Include requirements for the business associate to report any PHI breaches or security incidents.
• Ensure that the BAA requires the business associate to obtain similar agreements from any subcontractors or agents.
• Specify the conditions under which the agreement can be terminated and what happens to the PHI upon termination.

Risks and Consequences of Unauthorized Audio Recording in Healthcare

Using audio recordings in healthcare comes with big risks. If these recordings are accessed without authorization, it could expose private medical conversations, lead to identity theft, or even result in insurance fraud.

On your side, HIPAA violations can result in hefty fines, which vary based on its severity. HIPAA violations can result in hefty fines, lengthy court cases, and a loss of trust from patients. These legal issues can even damage the provider’s reputation and business for good.

Opt for CloudTalk for Better Patient Communications

To consistently provide top-tier patient experiences, your practice can benefit from robust support. CloudTalk specializes in customer care, featuring straightforward onboarding and 24/7 support to handle any queries or issues.

Let us assist you in supporting your patients’ well-being while upholding HIPAA regulations. Added pluses are time-saving AI and automation and comprehensive integrations that further support your call center capabilities.

Source:

1. Number of user accounts exposed worldwide
2. MWL
3. Telehealth Statistics