When HIPAA hurts: legal barriers to texting may reinforce healthcare disparities and disenfranchise vulnerable patients

Effective health communication between healthcare providers and patients is a cornerstone of quality healthcare. It underpins trust, comprehension, and patient-informed care. Robust research shows that effective communication, including the use of text messaging for communication can improve maternal/fetal and neonatal outcomes and patient satisfaction, particularly among vulnerable patients. Health information privacy laws that do not evolve with technological advances can inadvertently create barriers to effective health communication, reinforcing perinatal disparities. This is particularly true regarding maternal and child health, where the use of text messaging for patient communication has the potential to make a substantial impact on health disparities. This article explores the complex interplay between health information privacy laws and text messaging, highlighting challenges and examining potential solutions. It stresses the need for consistent health information privacy laws that protect the privacy security of health information for pregnant patients and new mothers, while also aligning with evolving communication technologies.