We’ve come a long way from the days when you would have to call patients manually with appointment reminders. Automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS) have made those calls automatic. However, roughly two years ago the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a 30-day automatic dialing rule amending its long-standing exemptions rule for certain ATDS calls to residential landlines. The amendments generally limit the number of automated, prerecorded voice calls that can be made to a residential line using an ATDS to three calls within a 30-day period.
That potentially caused issues if you didn’t have express written consent from your patients, but a modified rule on call exemptions and obtaining consumers’ consent from the Federal Communications Commission will take effect July 20, 2023.
What Changed on the 30-Day Automatic Dialing Rule?
The FCC issued a revised order on the 30-day automatic dialing rule in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exemptions with updates to its rule requiring prior express written consent in response to a petition from the ACA and a coalition of joint industry trade associations, which included the American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management (AAHAM).
The FCC revised its 30-day automatic dialing rule requiring prior express written consent to make informational calls over the numerical limits and to permit callers to obtain the necessary consent either orally or in writing. This revision helps ensure that your patients can continue to receive important informational calls, like appointment reminders, that they have requested and given consent to receive information about the healthcare services. These trade associations continue to advocate with the FCC on rules required under the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act to ensure legitimate business calls are getting through to consumers who want them while mitigating illegal robocalls from bad actors.
What the 30-Day Automatic Dialing Rule Revision Means for You
The revised 30-day automatic dialing rule takes effect July 20, 2023, after having been published on the Federal Register in January 2023. While this does allow you to make additional calls to patients, it is also a good chance to review your patient agreements for TCPA language. It is important that the consent you receive does not just cover cell phones, but landlines also. We suggest the best practice is to obtain consent that covers the right to call any number at any given time.
30-Day Dialing Rule Revision in Conclusion
While this revised 30-day automatic dialing rule does give you room with consent and allows you to make important automatic calls, you can protect yourself from any future rule revisions by obtaining the proper consent from your patients. If you have questions, always feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to help!
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