Industry News

CMS’ Position on Texting

In December 2017, CMS issued a memorandum clarifying its position on texting. While recognizing that texting is a valuable means of communication with other members of a patient’s healthcare team, CMS has taken the position that texting patient orders or other protected health information is not permissible. The rationale for this position stems from basic medical record requirements that the record be accurately written, promptly completed, properly filed and retained and accessible.