There is a sudden bustle in the emergency ward at one of Illinois’ biggest hospital, as the staff wheels in a petite blond with major burn injuries. In the dire situation, the nurse uses her smartphone and sends a few pictures of the burn, along with the patient details to a specialist located 700 miles away. Within seconds, the doctor replies, instructing the nurse on necessary treatment. The patient’s condition becomes stable and the doctor gets back to his meeting.

The scenarios in the healthcare arena today look no less different than a sci-fi movie. However, in an environment that demands a high level of privacy and compliance, what will happen to the information and the images that are left over on devices? Enter Vaporstream, a company that is taking healthcare communication to new heights. Utilizing the Vaporstream app, as soon as the doctor is done with the information, images along with information about the patient gets erased! Balancing compliance with efficiency, the company is spearheading a revolution in private, secure communication. Vaporstream empowers healthcare organizations to securely leverage the efficiencies of modern day mobile messaging while ensuring the protection of sensitive information and confidentiality. Built by compliance and security experts with over 30 years of experience in the content management industry, Vaporstream enhances mobility, information governance and compliance initiatives to securely facilitate mobile text messaging within healthcare ecosystem. “Today, short mobile communication methods like text is getting immediate response and better read rates, facilitating a new way of doing business,” says Galina Datskovsky, CEO of Vaporstream.

Vaporstream’s secure, ephemeral and compliant messaging app provides controlled, encrypted texting that helps ensure that only the intended receiver sees the contents of the message. Unlike email, Vaporstream messages cannot be saved, stored, forwarded, shared or printed. Patented screenshot protection ensures transmitted images or chats can never be captured in their entirety. Also, images sent via Vaporstream are not intermingled with native camera rolls where they could be inadvertently leaked. The ephemeral nature of messages ensures that messages automatically expire from all devices and servers after a period of inactivity, protecting patient privacy while addressing lost or stolen device concerns. “Often, the doctors don’t require messages after a week, or even days, once the treatment is over. Having that information stick around provides no value to the person receiving it. Our app removes the images or message after the doctor has provided the answer to the problem,” says Galina. Even though the messages are removed from the device, healthcare organizations can save a copy of the message to system of record, such as an EHR, for compliance, legal or business requirements.

Complete Content Control

The idea of having to communicate in a quick but confidential and secure manner is what spurred the conception of Vaporstream. “We tried to understand the importance of content control, because once we release the content to the world we do not have further control over it. There was a need to restrict the misuse or plagiarism,” adds Galina. “With Vaporstream, you can share content without worrying that it will be forwarded to a competitor or will be twisted and crafted into something harmful.” Recognized for its patented ephemeral technology, Vaporstream’s SaaS-based application offers the encryption, enhanced security and best-in-class infrastructure needed to meet the most complex requirements while helping maintain Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards. With expertise serving regulated industries, Vaporstream enables healthcare organizations of all sizes to provide an improved clinician experience and superior patient care, without jeopardizing any patient detail or official message.

Stating an example of visiting nurses, Galina explains that the nurses need to communicate and consult with the head physician or head nurse back in the home base in order to offer proper care to a patient. These nurses might take photos of the patient’s wound or condition and text the confidential information quickly to the doctors or other nurses. Furthermore, those particular caregivers are not always the employees of a single company. They may be contract employees who work for multiple organizations. They bring their own device to work and receive any and every bit of information on their device. An organization that utilizes an application like Vaporstream is able to interact in the most convenient way possible; and when the person moves on to another task, the conversation disappears from their device, whether they work for one organization or many. “On the flip side, the entire conversation has been recorded in an encrypted format for compliance purpose that can be safely entered into the patient record for any future need,” adds Galina.

Vaporstream’s services are delivered via an independent, robust cloud infrastructure, which remains available during unexpected events and emergencies, regardless of the status of corporate IT systems. Every Vaporstream user has a unique user ID determined by a previously assigned corporate email address or phone number. The ID is verified using a verification code at registration. On mobile devices, the Vaporstream app works in conjunction with device policies that lock the device after a period of inactivity. Additionally, the app can be configured to auto lock, requiring a PIN code after a period of inactivity.

The Vaporstream Information Governance Module (IGM)—with features designed to more effectively and compliantly meet the transitory and confidential messaging needs of businesses—provides a permanent, secure record of the information that an organization chooses to record for auditing and monitoring purposes. Vaporstream messages cannot be altered once sent, and are only stored via the IGM in a user’s designated system of record where they control the application of their retention / destruction policies. Vaporstream does not store users’ messages—only a single copy is stored in the user’s system if they choose to implement the IGM to support their records retention, business or other compliance requirements. They may only choose to selectively record a portion of their conversations. Vaporstream does not rely on the main infrastructure of the organization using the technology, and can, therefore, be used as an alternative communications channel during emergencies and disasters. Vaporstream also conducts annual evaluations of their security and compliance policies and procedures. The Vaporstream app is audited and certified by a reputable third party, NowSecure, for information security.

Initiating Texting Revolution

The company’s success directly ties back to their core values of integrity and respect for highest ethical standards, customer focus, innovation and teamwork. “Our values drive our business and they are deeply rooted in everything we do here at Vaporstream. They are the fabric of how we work together with our colleagues, customers and partners, and are the foundation for how we deliver solutions and services,” says Galina. Vaporstream realizes that partners are very essential to contributing towards any business’ productivity. “Partners that are technology savvy, who can integrate the latest offerings – they give us the potential to work in a better way,” explains Galina.

Apart from healthcare, the company plans to deepen its roots in other verticals including financial services, higher education, legal and media. “We had a client who was under severe ransomware breach, and they knew that their email and normal channel of communications were compromised. They used Vaporstream to communicate during the breach, sharing ideas to overcome the situation,” states Galina. “This is the reach of Vaporstream and how clients across various industries are using our solutions.” The company wants to continue offering secure ways of mobile communication that will enhance customers’ business productivity and efficiency for years to come. “I want to take the company to new heights. I would like to see Vaporstream grow to be the golden standard in secure communication for patient care. It would make me very proud indeed concludes Galina. HT

(Article originally published in Healthcare Tech Outlook by Eileen Singh November 04, 2016)