Medical clinics, therapist offices, and other small practices need HIPAA compliant emails to handle sensitive patient information. Protected health information (PHI) includes identifying information such as social security numbers, health information, payment methods, and more. No matter the practice size, healthcare professionals must take the proper steps to keep PHI and other sensitive data confidential.
HIPAA Compliant Emails for Small Practices
Enguard® offers secure email services for healthcare professionals. We provide end-to-end data encryption and reliable information backups. We also offer protection from phishing emails by filtering out any suspicious-looking communications from unknown senders. Here are a few instances where a small practice would need a HIPAA compliant email service:
Prescriptions
General practice doctors, dentists, therapists, and others can prescribe medications to patients and offer refills via email. If they use email prescription refill services, they need to make sure their email communications are secure. Enguard®’s email services will encrypt your prescriptions so that only the recipient with a decryption key can read them. A hacker who accesses an encrypted email will not be able to understand the scrambled messages. This protects patient information and medication prescriptions from being accessed without permission.
Appointments
Small practices will send appointment reminders to patients to verify that they will arrive on time and be prepared with their insurance and other information. They will also need full names, addresses, and other personal identifying information. Practice owners must take the necessary precautions to safeguard this information. They can do this by working with a third-party provider offering encryption and data protection services.
Test Results
A small practice may use phone recording or email services to notify patients about their lab test results. Tests will indicate deficiencies, immune system issues, and other personal disorders. This private health information needs to be protected from hackers or individuals looking to commit fraud to gain Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Enguard’s system provides protection and access control features so that only authorized users will have access to sensitive information.
Communications
Healthcare providers from small practices may need to communicate with other professionals outside of their practice about patient treatment plans. They may also regularly communicate with patients about treatment and billing options. To comply with HIPAA regulations, they need to verify that their email communications are properly secured.
Email communications travel through various unsecured networks before they reach the recipient’s inbox. End-to-end encryption protects that information as it makes its way from the sender to the receiver. This is part of our services to protect information in transit and at rest. The emailed information will be fully encrypted and secured whether it’s sent through a public or private network.
Get Help With Enguard®’s Secure Email Services
Small practices may be susceptible to hackers and other cyber threats. Healthcare professionals should implement robust security measures to protect emails and other communications. They can also train employees about the necessity of maintaining HIPAA compliance at all times. Reach out to the Enguard® team today to learn more about our secure email services.