According to a study highlighted by the American Medical Association (AMA), physicians spend an average of 5.8 hours in the electronic health record (EHR) for every eight hours of scheduled patient care. As more of that administrative work is delegated to support staff, many healthcare practices are turning to medical virtual assistants (VAs) to help manage scheduling, documentation, referrals, patient communication, and other time-consuming responsibilities.
However, because many of these responsibilities involve protected health information (PHI), one concern naturally comes up before hiring a virtual assistant:
Can a Virtual Assistant Access an EHR System?
The short answer is yes. Many practices have been working with VAs for years, providing them with remote access to EHR and PHI.
Depending on their role, a VA’s tasks may range from scheduling appointments and verifying insurance to processing referrals and helping you with documentation. While all of these tasks require access to PHI, you can’t just give your VAs access to all available patient data. You need to determine exactly what information they will need before granting them access to your EHR, among other protective measures.
In other words, the question isn’t if a VA can access your EHR but whether or not you follow security best practices before giving them access.
How Do Healthcare Practices Secure EHR Access?
Providing remote access doesn’t mean giving every employee, both in-person and remote, unrestricted access to your entire system.
Instead, you should combine multiple security measures to keep protected health information protected while letting your team do their jobs.
Individual User Accounts
Both in-person and virtual team members should have their own username and password.
By giving each member of your team their own account, you can grant or revoke permissions when necessary and immediately disable access once they leave your organization. This will also eliminate shared access, making individual activity easier for you to track.
Multi-Factor Authentication
A login credential with unique combinations is only one layer of secure login.
Many modern EHR platforms support multi-factor authentication (MFA), requiring your team to complete additional verification steps before they can log in to your EHR system. Even if login credentials become compromised, MFA provides another layer of protection against unauthorized access.
Role-Based Permissions
Not every employee needs access to every part of your EHR.
For example, a VA with a receptionist role will likely only need access to appointment schedules and patient contact information, while someone taking on scribe tasks may require additional access to patient charts. By limiting access to only what’s necessary, you’ll avoid exposing PHI unnecessarily.
Secure Devices and Internet Connections
Your EHR system’s cybersecurity measures are only as robust as the technology that supports it.
Because EHR is simply a system, you should establish standards for the devices and internet connections your team uses when accessing patient information, such as requiring password-protected computers, updated operating systems, antivirus software, encrypted devices, and firewalls.
Audit Logs
Traceability matters not only in keeping your team accountable but also in securing PHI.
When your EHR logs access to specific records, when the access happened, and the actions done to them, you can easily evaluate how secure your patients’ data is. But apart from that, audits can also help you investigate unusual activity if security concerns arise.
What Role Does HIPAA Play?
Whether someone works inside your office or remotely, HIPAA requirements remain the same.
If your virtual assistant routinely handles protected health information, they should understand HIPAA requirements and follow your practice’s privacy and security policies.
Depending on your working relationship, your practice may also need to establish a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), provide HIPAA training, and implement secure procedures for handling patient information before granting system access.
Ultimately, HIPAA compliance isn’t determined by where someone works. It’s determined by whether appropriate safeguards are consistently followed.
How Can a Medical Virtual Assistant Company Help Improve Security?
VAs are key players in keeping your patients’ data secure. But how effectively they can do it will depend on how you hire them.
If you hire a healthcare VA from freelancing websites like Upwork or LinkedIn, you will likely be responsible for setting them up. That includes onboarding and training them on your practice’s security measures, if they aren’t trained already. On the other hand, working with a medical virtual assistant company can simplify much of that process. For example, companies like My Mountain Mover can help by providing:
- HIPAA pre-training so your VA knows and understands the importance of healthcare privacy before they start working;
- Ongoing refreshers so they consistently brush up on their HIPAA knowledge;
- In-house HIPAA-compliance officer & IT specialists so you and your VA have dedicated security experts;
- Signed BAAs so you know the company’s role in keeping PHI protected.
While your practice still controls user permissions within your EHR, working with a trusted VA provider can lighten the workload associated with hiring a new team member.
Secure Access Starts with the Right Safeguards
Giving a virtual assistant access to your EHR system doesn’t have to compromise patient security.
By combining role-based permissions, secure authentication, HIPAA compliance, and well-defined internal policies, your practice can confidently delegate administrative responsibilities while protecting sensitive patient information.
Ultimately, secure access isn’t determined by whether someone works remotely. It’s determined by the safeguards your practice puts in place before they ever log in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my practice uses a cloud-based EHR?
Many cloud-based EHR systems are designed to support secure remote access. Your practice can typically control user permissions, require multi-factor authentication, and monitor account activity regardless of where employees log in.
Can a virtual assistant document patient encounters directly in the EHR?
Yes, if their responsibilities include documentation and your practice grants the appropriate permissions. Many medical scribes and documentation assistants enter information directly into the EHR for physician review and approval.
What happens if I switch to another EHR system?
Medical VAs can typically be trained to use a new platform during the implementation process. Many healthcare-focused medical virtual assistant companies also support onboarding for different EHR and practice management systems.
