Top HIPAA-Compliant Survey Tools for 2024: Secure Your Patient Data

The importance of protecting the personal data of patients in healthcare cannot be ignored, as unauthorized access to such sensitive information can lead to severe consequences, including identity theft and loss of trust in healthcare providers. Therefore healthcare businesses need to be more cautious about the data of patients and ensure a high level of confidentiality and safety of such data.

Studies suggest that 5887 large healthcare data breaches were reported in the past years from October 2009 to December 2023. And the number has been increasing since a couple of years due to digitalization at a large scale. This states how it has been more cautious than ever to protect patients' data. Protecting patient confidentiality is not just a matter of ethical practice but a legal requirement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

HIPAA sets the standard for safeguarding sensitive patient data, mandating that any company dealing with PHI (protected health information) must ensure all necessary physical, network, and process security measures are in place. This is where HIPAA-compliant survey tools come into play, ensuring encryption and access controls to prevent unauthorized access.

In this article, we’ve enlisted some of the best HIPAA-compliant survey tools that you can use for patient satisfaction surveys, to ensure that your organization can maintain compliance while effectively gathering crucial patient insights. Big brands like Mayo Clinic, Cleaveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and MGH use such tools for this purpose.

Let’s start with learning more about HIPAA and HIPAA-compliant tools. If you are eager to know the tools, you can directly jump to the Top 6 HIPAA-compliant survey tools.

TL;DR

• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a U.S. law enacted in 1996 that sets standards for protecting sensitive patient information, ensuring confidentiality, and maintaining trust in healthcare.

• Using HIPAA-compliant survey tools is essential to safeguard patient information, comply with legal requirements, and enhance data security.

• The blog covers top tools like Zonka Feedback, Medallia, Qualtrics, Alchemer, AskNicely, and SurveyMonkey, each offering unique features for secure patient feedback collection.

• While choosing a HIPAA complaint tool, you should take care of some key considerations like it should encode data encryption, access controls, and Business Associate Agreement (BAA).

• Zonka Feedback is one of the most effective HIPAA complaint tools that you can choose, It has features like robust encryption, customizable surveys, and seamless healthcare system integration. It also offers a 14-day free trial to let users explore its features and working.

Collect Patient Insights with HIPAA Complaint Survey Tool👩‍⚕️

Use HIPAA Complaint survey tool to create your healthcare surveys and questionnaires to securely collect feedback from patients in real-time.

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA's significance in the healthcare industry cannot be overstated. It mandates that healthcare providers, insurers, and other entities handling patient information implement strict security measures to protect against data breaches and unauthorized access.

💡The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted in the United States in 1996, stands as a cornerstone of patient privacy and data security. Designed to safeguard sensitive patient information, HIPAA establishes rigorous standards for the protection of health information, ensuring that patients' health-related data remains confidential and secure.

By doing so, HIPAA not only enhances the trust between patients and healthcare providers but also mitigates the risk of identity theft and fraud. Ensuring compliance with HIPAA is thus crucial for maintaining the integrity of healthcare operations and upholding patient rights.

What is a HIPAA Complaint Survey Tool?

A HIPAA-compliant survey tool is a digital platform designed to collect, store, and analyze patient feedback while adhering to the stringent privacy and security requirements mandated by HIPAA. These tools ensure that any PHI collected through surveys is handled with the utmost confidentiality and security.

Why it is important to use surveys with HIPAA Complaince?

Utilizing HIPAA-compliant survey tools is essential for several reasons. Legally, it ensures that healthcare providers and related entities comply with federal regulations, thus avoiding hefty fines and legal repercussions. More importantly, it safeguards patients' sensitive information from potential breaches and unauthorized access, fostering a secure environment where patients can freely provide feedback without fear of their survey data being compromised.

– Healthcare Compliance Expert

HIPAA-compliant surveys help you improve your services by collecting valuable patient insights securely. They enable you to gain a deeper understanding of patient needs and experiences, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and higher satisfaction rates. By prioritizing both legal compliance and data security, you can ensure that your efforts to gather patient feedback. do not compromise the privacy and trust of those you serve.

Let’s learn about some of the best HIPAA-compliant survey tools.

Top 6 HIPAA Compliant Survey Tools 

Let’s learn about these tools. 

1. Zonka Feedback

Zonka Feedback is a comprehensive and one of the best HIPAA complaint survey tools designed to collect patient data and feedback securely. With robust encryption, the tool ensures the confidentiality and protection of sensitive health information of the patients. 

The platform is an overall experience management software and helps healthcare businesses to set a well-managed patient feedback system. It offers customizable surveys, real-time analytics, and seamless integration with healthcare systems, making it an ideal choice for healthcare providers aiming to enhance patient satisfaction while adhering to HIPAA regulations.

Equipped with advanced AI-powered analytical features like Sentiment Analysis and Text Analysis, the tool not only helps collect patient feedback, but also fosters robust analysis of the data collected to get meaningful information about patient experience and satisfaction. It works as an entire experience management software and helps you close the feedback loop and enhance patient satisfaction. Here are some features of the tool.

Zonka Feedback Features

• Secure data encryption in transit and at rest to adhere to high-level security standards

• Business Associate Agreement (BAA) available

• SSO, role-based access controls and user authentication

• Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems

• Comprehensive audit logs for tracking data access

• HIPAA-compliant data storage

• GDPR complaince

• Customizable survey templates for healthcare

• Multi-channel survey distribution (email, SMS, web)

• Real-time feedback collection and alerts

• Advanced analytics and reporting with AI-powered features like Sentiment and Text Analytics

Use Cases of Zonka Feedback

• Patient satisfaction surveys

• Post-visit feedback collection

• Healthcare service quality assessments

• Patient follow-up surveys

Zonka Feedback Pricing

• Pricing starts at $49/month

• It also provides a free trial for 14 days.

2. Medallia

Medallia is a leading HIPAA complaint survey tool that specializes in capturing and analyzing patient feedback securely. Its solution for healthcare ensures the protection of sensitive health information through robust security measures and compliance with HIPAA.

The platform offers powerful analytics, customizable surveys, and seamless integration with healthcare systems, making it a good choice for improving patient experience while maintaining strict data privacy standards.

Medallia Features

• Secure data encryption in transit and at rest

• Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

• Expert security with HIPAA is addition to HITTRUST

• Up-to-date processes and controls with regular audits by internal and external parties

• Extensive development and post-development testing by Product Security teams

• PII settings, including granular role-based access and user authentification 

• Data masking

• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) field-level data encryption

• Medallia LivingLens Video Feedback solution with HIPAA compliance

• Telehealth facility with contactless mobile messaging patient engagement

• Customizable survey templates for healthcare

• Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems

• Real-time feedback collection and alerts

• Comprehensive audit logs for tracking data access

• Multi-channel survey distribution (email, SMS, web)

• Advanced analytics and reporting tools

Use Cases of Medallia

• Patient satisfaction tracking

• Real-time feedback collection

• Service improvement initiatives

• Post-treatment feedback surveys

Medallia Pricing

They do not share pricing on their website. You need to contact their sales team to get customized pricing plans as per your business requirements.

3. Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a versatile HIPAA-compliant survey platform that provides secure tools for collecting and analyzing patient feedback. Known for its robust features and extensive customization options, Qualtrics ensures the confidentiality and protection of sensitive health information through advanced encryption and security measures. This makes it an ideal solution for healthcare providers looking to enhance patient care and satisfaction.

Qualtrics Features

• Data encryption in transit and at rest to protect PHI

• Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

• Role-based access, SSO, two-factor authentication, and password policies

• Audit logs of all activities related to PHI (access, modification, and deletion)

• Secure retention and disposal of data on need basis

• Admin reports to get visibility into users’ data to highlight user engagement, activity, consumption, and department-specific usage

• SOC2 data center certification

• Data isolation to provide an extra layer of security

• HITTRUST certified 

• Advanced analytics and reporting

• Customizable and scalable surveys

• Real-time data collection and analysis

• Comprehensive audit trails

Use Cases of Qualtrics

• Patient experience surveys

• Healthcare service evaluations

• Post-treatment feedback

• Clinical trial feedback

Qualtrics Pricing

Pricing information is not provided on their website. They provide it on a request basis as per your business requirements.

4. Alchemer

Alchemer is a flexible HIPAA-compliant survey tool designed to securely collect and manage patient feedback. It offers extensive customization and powerful analytics to improve healthcare services. With its strong focus on data protection and compliance, Alchemer ensures that sensitive health information is securely handled, making it a reliable choice for healthcare organizations.

Alchemer Features

• End-to-end encryption of data in transit and at rest

• Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

• Regional data isolation where customers can select the region in which they want to store and manage data

• Access management with Single sign-on (SSO) using SAML 2.0, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and role-based access control (RBAC)

• Data retention, only you can retain, transfer or delete your own data

• Easy and secure integration into business processes and systems with Open Rest APIs

• In-house security measures for data protection through system monitoring, scanning, logging, and alerting the system

• Customizable survey templates for healthcare

• HIPAA and FERPA complaint surveys

• Advanced reporting and analytics

Use Cases of Alchemer

• Patient satisfaction surveys

• Clinical trial feedback

• Healthcare service assessments

• Patient follow-up surveys

Alchemer Pricing

Pricing details are not provided on their website. You can request a demo from their website and they will contact you and confirm all the details.

5. AskNicely

AskNicely is a HIPAA-compliant survey tool focused on collecting real-time patient feedback. It helps healthcare providers improve patient experiences through actionable insights. With its secure data encryption and compliance with HIPAA standards, AskNicely ensures that all patient information is handled safely and securely.

AskNicely Features

• Secure data encryption in transit and at rest

• Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

• It maintains a Cloud Security Alliance CAIQ

• Multiple certifications in data centres including ISO 27001 compliance, PCI certification, and SOC reports

• Vulnerability scanning with Amazon Inspector

• Third-party audits and data leak scanning

• Two/multi-factor authentification

• Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems

• Real-time feedback collection

• Customizable survey templates for healthcare

• Detailed reporting and analytics

• Role-based access controls and user authentication

• Multi-channel survey distribution

• HIPAA-compliant data storage solutions

Use Cases of AskNicely

• Patient satisfaction tracking

• Post-visit feedback

• Continuous service improvement

• Healthcare service evaluations

AskNicely Pricing

Pricing details are not provided on their website. To get pricing details, you need to contact them and their sales team will provide you with all the pricing details. 

6. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey offers a HIPAA-compliant solution for healthcare providers to securely collect patient feedback. Known for its ease of use and powerful survey capabilities, SurveyMonkey ensures the protection of sensitive health information through rigorous encryption and security measures, making it a trusted tool for healthcare organizations.

SurveyMonkey Features

• Secure data encryption in transit and at rest

• Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

• Automatic logout after idle

• Activity account logs

• PHI share alerts to take action when personal health information is shared

• SSL/TLS encryption to reduce survey risk on mobile devices

• Role-based access controls and user authentication

• Comprehensive audit logs

• Customizable survey templates for healthcare

• Real-time analytics and reporting

• Integration with healthcare systems

• Multi-channel survey distribution (email, SMS, web)

• Automated survey distribution and reminders

• HIPAA-compliant data storage solutions

Use Cases of SurveyMonkey

• Patient satisfaction surveys

• CAHPS surveys

• Service quality assessments

• Healthcare service evaluations

SurveyMonkey Pricing

Their Enterprise plan provides HIPAA compliance features. It is a custom plan so you need to contact them to get the exact pricing quote.

Checkpoints for a HIPAA Complaint Survey Tool

When selecting a HIPAA-compliant survey tool, healthcare providers must ensure that the tool meets stringent security and privacy requirements. Here are key checkpoints to consider:

1. Business Associate Agreement (BAA)

A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a crucial component for any HIPAA-compliant survey tool. A BAA is a legal document that outlines the responsibilities and obligations of the survey tool provider (the business associate) in handling protected health information (PHI). It ensures that the provider adheres to HIPAA regulations, safeguarding patient data from unauthorized access and breaches. When choosing a survey tool, verify that the provider offers a BAA and fully understands its importance in maintaining compliance.

2. Data Encryption

Ensure that the survey tool you select employs robust encryption methods to protect patient information from potential cyber threats and data breaches. Data encryption is essential for protecting PHI both in transit and at rest. A HIPAA-compliant survey tool must use strong encryption protocols to secure data. This means that any data transmitted over the internet or stored on servers is encrypted, making it unreadable to unauthorized users.

3. Access Controls and User Roles

A HIPAA-compliant survey tool should allow administrators to define and manage user roles and permissions. This ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive information. Look for features that enable role-based access control, multi-factor authentication, and detailed audit logs to monitor who accesses the data and what actions they perform. These measures help prevent unauthorized access and ensure accountability.

4. Data Storage and Security

Secure data storage is a key requirement for HIPAA compliance. The survey tool you choose should store data on HIPAA-compliant servers with high-security standards, including physical security measures, redundant storage, and regular security audits. Additionally, the tool should offer backup and disaster recovery solutions to ensure data integrity and availability. When evaluating a survey tool, inquire about its data storage practices and confirm that it meets HIPAA standards for data security and protection.

5. User Training and Support

The survey tool provider should offer comprehensive training programs that cover the tool's features, security practices, and HIPAA compliance requirements. Additionally, access to responsive customer support is crucial for addressing any issues or questions that may arise. Choose a provider that offers robust training resources and reliable support to help your organization maintain compliance and effectively use the survey tool.

Send Surveys in Compliance with HIPAA with Zonka Feedback

Patient data security is crucial while dealing with patient health information to ensure a safe and secure patient experience.

Zonka Feedback is a comprehensive HIPAA-compliant patient feedback software that you can choose to conduct HIPAA-compliant surveys for collecting patient data and feedback. It provides you with ready-to-use customizable patient survey templates to create surveys for patients as per your survey requirements. Powered with security features like SSO, user roles and encryption, the tool ensures high-level security of your patient data and also provides features for advanced data analysis and reporting. 

Zonka Feedback has enabled big healthcare organization brands like Tata 1MG, Akumin, SkyCare Media, Sankara, and more to conduct patient feedback surveys for measuring patient satisfaction and improving the overall patient experience.

It also provides a free trial. Try Zonka Feedback for free for 14 days and see how it works for your healthcare business.