SMS Consent

Messaging Consent Practices

HubMD is a HIPAA-compliant healthcare platform. This page describes how we collect, record, and honor patient consent for SMS text messaging.

Effective Date: March 15, 2026 · Last Updated: March 15, 2026

Overview

HubMD sends SMS text messages to patients for appointment reminders, prescription updates, and important healthcare notifications. Messaging consent is collected explicitly during a mandatory, multi-step patient onboarding flow before any messages are sent. This page documents our consent collection process, what patients agree to, and how they can opt out at any time.

How Patients Access the Onboarding Flow

Patients do not self-register. A licensed healthcare provider invites each patient by generating a cryptographically signed, single-use invitation link from within the HubMD platform. The invitation is sent to the patient's verified email address.

  • Each invitation URL contains a signed token that is validated server-side before the onboarding flow loads.
  • Tokens are single-use and expire after a set period, preventing unauthorized access.
  • Because the onboarding flow handles Protected Health Information (PHI), HIPAA §164.312 and OWASP security standards require that it is not publicly accessible without a valid token.

Consent Collection During Onboarding

The patient onboarding wizard is an 8-step process. SMS messaging consent is collected at Step 7, after the patient has already reviewed and accepted HIPAA, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy documents. The relevant consent steps are:

Step 5 — HIPAA Acknowledgement


The patient reviews the full Notice of Privacy Practices in a scrollable document viewer. They must provide a digital signature by typing their full legal name and confirming it constitutes their electronic signature.

Recorded: Typed signature, timestamp, IP address, user agent

Compliance: HIPAA §164.530(j) audit trail

Step 6 — Terms of Service & Privacy Policy


The patient must review and accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy by checking the required checkboxes. Each document is expandable for full review. The Privacy Policy discloses that we collect phone numbers and use communication channels to relay healthcare information.

Required: Terms of Service and Privacy Policy acceptance are mandatory to proceed.

Step 7 — Notification Preferences (SMS Opt-In)


The patient reaches a dedicated “Notification Preferences” screen with the heading:

Notification Preferences

Choose how you'd like to receive updates about your care, appointments, and prescriptions.

SMS Text Messages

Receive appointment reminders, prescription updates, and important notifications via text message.

Email Notifications

Receive appointment summaries, lab results, and account updates via email.

You can change your notification preferences at any time from your account settings.

The patient sees an explicitly labeled “SMS Text Messages” checkbox with the disclosure:

“Receive appointment reminders, prescription updates, and important notifications via text message.”

The patient can uncheck the SMS box to decline. A note below confirms: “You can change your notification preferences at any time from your account settings.”

Consent Record & Audit Trail

When the patient completes onboarding, the following consent data is recorded in our HIPAA-compliant database:

Consent Data Captured


  • SMS opt-in preference (boolean)
  • Consent type and document version
  • Timestamp of consent
  • IP address at time of consent
  • User agent (browser/device)

Security & Retention


  • All data encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256)
  • HIPAA-compliant audit logging on all consent actions
  • 6-year minimum record retention per HIPAA §164.530(j)
  • Consent records are soft-deleted (never permanently removed)

Types of Messages Sent

When a patient has opted in to SMS notifications, they may receive the following types of transactional messages:

Appointment Reminders


Upcoming appointment notifications including date, time, and provider details.

Prescription Updates


Notifications about prescription status changes, refill reminders, and shipment tracking.

Important Notifications


Time-sensitive healthcare communications such as lab result availability and care instructions.

Note: HubMD does not send marketing or promotional messages via SMS. All SMS messages are transactional healthcare communications related to the patient's care.

How Patients Opt Out

Patients can manage their SMS preferences at any time through the following methods:

  • Account Settings: Navigate to Account Settings → Notifications to toggle SMS notifications on or off at any time.
  • Reply STOP: Reply STOP to any SMS message to immediately unsubscribe from all SMS notifications.
  • Contact Support: Email or call our support team to request SMS opt-out on your behalf.

Opting out of SMS does not affect your access to healthcare services, appointment scheduling, or any other platform functionality.

Questions About Our Messaging Practices

If you have questions about our SMS consent practices, wish to opt out, or need further information about how we handle your communication preferences, please contact us:

support@hub-md.com
VOIP: support@hub-md.com