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This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick has been working as a civil litigator in California for 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.
How To Make Your Email Hipaa Compliant
There are 7 references in this article which can be found at the bottom of the page.
The Ultimate Guide To Hipaa Compliant Email For Therapists (baas, Secure Forms, And More)
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted to prevent personal health information from being made public.
Accordingly, HIPAA mandates that specific regulatory entities use appropriate processes to protect patient information. If you are a healthcare provider covered by HIPAA, make sure your email is HIPAA compliant. Unfortunately, there is no easy way for you to do this on your own. Instead, hire a HIPAA-compliant email service provider.
This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. Clinton M. Sandvick has been working as a civil litigator in California for 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013. This article has been read 8,317 times. Protecting your patient information is a major concern when it comes to email. Every time you want to send a reminder about an upcoming treatment session, change a treatment plan, or even attach a bill, check the email rules for HIPAA compliance and make sure you’re using a secure messaging program. You can’t just share this information and you can’t use the regular Gmail platform to communicate with your patients. If you do, you risk being penalized for violating the HIPAA privacy and security rules.
Effective HIPAA-compliant email software is an invaluable asset to any medical practice because it allows you to have a secure means of communication without the threat of protected health information (PHI) falling into the wrong hands. Continue reading this article to learn about common issues, requirements, and features of HIPAA-compliant email platforms and find solutions that cover communication security needs.
Hipaa Compliant Messaging For Healthcare Providers
Email is one of the best ways to share information with your customers. Unlike chat or video conferencing, email allows your customers to access the information sent at any time and even view or download shared files. Before you send emails to your customers, however, you should know that the HIPAA privacy rules apply to the following types of information, classifying them as protected health information:
As you can see, almost all information, including your patient’s email address, falls under the definition of ePHI. In these cases, you must use a HIPAA-compliant email platform. Other cases where you will need to use a HIPAA compliant email platform are:
All this kind of information must be kept safe at all times, and it is not as easy as it seems. Many companies have been sued for breaches of protected information. Let’s learn what we need to do to ensure the security of protected data and whether there are any exceptions to which protected data can be disclosed.
People sometimes wonder if there is a way to share protected health information with professional colleagues if it is in the patient’s best interest. In such situations, HIPAA exemptions may apply.
Email And Hipaa Compliant Practice: Is It Possible?
A HIPAA waiver is a legal document that allows you to share your patient’s health information with specific named individuals (family members, co-workers, attorneys, etc.). With the HIPAA waiver, patients may provide full access to their health information or partial disclosure of medical records, depending on the circumstances and purpose of such disclosure.
A HIPAA waiver is invaluable when it comes to discussing a patient’s medical condition with a professional in the field or when medical records need to be shown to a new practitioner who replaces you. Another example where a HIPAA waiver can be signed is when a patient allows a therapist to use their medical records in research.
In any case, the patient is solely responsible for their medical records. It is up to your patients whether they allow you to share their health information with whom after being notified of the need.
Disclosure of protected health information to unauthorized parties is prohibited by HIPAA standards. This means that therapists should be extra careful when ensuring that the information exchanged between you and your patients is protected. Using email software for communication increases the risk of unintended disclosure of ePHI in several ways, and it is important to be aware of situations that may lead to the leakage of protected information. There are four main factors that can lead to the disclosure of ePHI:
Hipaa Compliant Encrypted Email
The requirements that email platforms must meet to comply with HIPAA are there to ensure that the information you share with your patients does not fall into the wrong hands. That’s why you need to make sure you’re using software that’s certified to comply with HIPAA standards. Let’s take a closer look at the requirements that HIPAA-compliant email services must meet:
Note that email services that do not offer a signed BAA do not comply with HIPAA standards. You can not use these services for treatment, although they may meet other requirements (eg Gmail supports two-factor authentication, but it is still not available).
However, there are many email service providers that meet these needs and can provide you and your patients with secure and private communication. Let’s see their overview.
We have compiled a list of twelve HIPAA compliant email providers for you to consider using in your healthcare practice. They differ in features and prices, so let’s review them to learn more about the pros and cons of each solution.
Hipaa Compliant Email Made Easy
With Virtru, you can use popular email services like Gmail and Microsoft Outlook because it adds the end-to-end encryption required for HIPAA-compliant communications. Virtru makes it easy to encrypt data and control who has access to the content you send.
Knowox is a solution that provides HIPAA-compliant email encryption and protects you from spam, ransomware and unwanted phishing attempts. It provides integration with Office 365 and G Suite, so it does not require you to install additional add-ons.
NeoCertified is a HIPAA compliant solution that provides email encryption within its platform and integrates with Outlook, Office 365 and G Suite. It also provides a secure email form and email collection and allows you to sign a BAA.
HIPAA Vault is similar to the solution above, it provides integration with Office 365 and Gmail. With HIPAA Vault, you get HIPAA compliance without switching to another platform. It also comes with fully managed services and ongoing support.
Hipaa Compliant Telehealth For Therapists
Aspida Mail is a secure HIPAA compliant platform with a variety of integration options including Outlook, Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail, EagleSoft and many other mail services. Within that you can also add a custom domain name.
This software supports opt-out, offers encryption and is HIPAA compliant. full Within Send IT Secure, you can also set up message policies and access to messages that will expire automatically.
LuxSci provides secure email services, hosting and forms. This service is HIPAA compliant, offers BAA signing and text encryption. In addition, with LuxSci you will be able to track the email status and know whether the message has been opened.
ProtonMail is a service that combines end-to-end encryption and password-protected email. It also allows you to encrypt contact information and use an alias. ProtonMail is HIPAA compliant and offers to sign a BAA.
Hipaa Compliant Email
Hushmail adds encryption to your emails, forms and signatures. This service, like those listed above, offers to sign a business relationship agreement and is HIPAA compliant.
Mimecast is an email security service that provides everything from encryption to AI-based file scanning that aims to prevent phishing attacks and data loss.
At first glance, all these options may seem similar, so let’s compare the features of these ten software solutions.
The communication process is not limited to email. While some people are accustomed to using email and therefore prefer them, today you can find HIPAA compliant software that offers an easier way to share and sign documents. This innovative software also combines email functionality with scheduling, invoicing, telephonic and automated solutions. Come explore all-in-one that can easily convert your email platform to HIPAA-compliant and allow you to automate communications.
Hipaa Compliant Document Sharing: How To Send Medical Records
A platform that integrates HIPAA-compliant chat, intake forms, feedback collection, remote therapy tools, and secure scheduling and billing. Within the platform, you can easily find everything you need to provide treatment services. In addition, it is possible to automate bookings and plan tasks if you work as a team. Technology reduces the chance that you miss important things.
SimplePractice is another option if you’re looking for a stand-alone HIPAA-compliant email solution. SimplePractice offers a client portal, paperless intake forms, treatment planning and scheduling to help you practice your treatment.
Spruce Health is also committed to all-in-one communications so you and your customers are on the same page. It is focused on the complex and automatic process of communication. With Spruce Health you can access:
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