Here are a few options: 1) Get consent to email PHI It’s up to you to decide which one will fit your needs best. The available solutions fall all over that spectrum. Sure, there are encryption solutions out there that are free or low cost.īut they aren’t worth it if they’re going to be inconvenient or disruptive. When you’re choosing a solution, think about ease-of-use in both sending and receiving. Like many things in life, it isn’t as straightforward as you might think.Īlso like many things in life, it’s a perpetual trade-off between cost and convenience. If you want to send PHI over email, you need to make sure that data is encrypted.

HIPAA compliant email encryption is the only way to guarantee #1.

You need to get permission to send insecure email AND tell them about the risks.

You either need to be 100% sure that ONLY your recipient gets the email, or.

Under HIPAA, there are strict rules for sending PHI over email. Not too complicated, right? Fine, I’m drinking my Ovaltine, but why does all this matter? Not too complicated, right? What is HIPAA Email Encryption? HQIOAwfq5Jrby+Z圎Af/QOdUNAhEOSfC8FD35VYqbplUXim0t02sGEakLSgPRn5hhk8kB3e1Mcqu6WN1RGXDmb0YMZapWh0oNj0syq4InrXyZMumhrCGWJwDusCH+NEQXfC4LilogaQTxKNwaF2OjRt0I7hPBrndaKhrHVC3XftK1YKwigJuFDDgK圓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圆04MqgveVZ3tgwCIUAweveGoWQi=yIpJīut then when your patient or customers gets the email, it automatically decrypts it to deliver Ovaltine joy!

When it gets emailed out, it looks like this to anyone who tries to intercept it: It’s not important to understand how encryption works.Īll you need to know is that you start with an ultra-important secret message: It’s an effective way to shield data from prying eyes. So what do you do?įirst, you need to understand the basics of encryption.Įncryption is at the heart of many of today’s data protection tools. This infographic does an awesome job demonstrating all of the different places where PHI can hide. Even in places that you wouldn’t think to look, like notes on a calendar or files in a “Downloads” folder. If you're emailing ANYTHING that someone can use to figure out medical information, it's PHI.įor healthcare providers and business associates, PHI is everywhere. PHI is anything that can identify an individual and provide information about their healthcare.

PHI stands for “Protected Health Information.”

Reviews of email encryption software