What can I do to make sure my email is HIPAA Compliant?

March 16, 2012 at 5:38 pm

The basic idea is that the email needs to be secured the entire way from your computer to your patient. Email encryption is one way to do this. If you are hosting your email with us (using JumbleMe Complete), or using our Outlook software, this can be as easy to do as hitting the “Send Secure” button. This will send a secure email to your patient, with password encryption, making sure the right person reads the email.

If you are using our relay service (JumbleMe Secure or Control), then you need to make sure that you send the email to us over a secure channel. This can be done either by sending your email to us using our secure SMTP server, or using our online email composer. Once the encrypted email leaves our facility, then it can be sent to a patients email host (Hotmail, gmail, etc) while remaining HIPAA compliant.
We also offer webforms for integrating into your office website, and can create custom interfaces with EMRs. Please check our website for further help.

Remember, the main requirement of HIPAA is that no one but your patient can read the email. Internet providers, such as google’s gmail, are NOT HIPAA compliant. You do not have any agreement with them, and although they make efforts to protect your privacy, there is nothing to prevent their personnel from reading those emails.

How can I prevent someone from forwarding and email to another person?

August 10, 2011 at 1:39 pm

Companies and people can often find themselves wanting to email confidential information to an employee or associate, but are hesitant to do so, fearful that the email might be forwarded to a competitor or newspaper. The news is full of stories of people who have made this mistake, and found themselves reading about it in the paper the next day.

Once regular email is sent, there is nothing to prevent that email from being forwarded with a simple click of the button. That’s where a service like JumbleMe comes in. By sending the email with a no forwarding option, the email will only be able to be opened on one computer. Although the person may forward the encrypted email to someone else, that person will not be able to open and read the email, regardless of the password used.

Although a person can always take a picture of the screen, and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent that, JumbleMe can also make it very difficult to print the email. This helps to prevent the recipient from printing the email and faxing it.

Never send anything by email that absolutely, positively, can never see the light of day. You must have some level of trust with your recipient. But no service has ever provided the protection and options provided by JumbleMe to keep you information as private as possible.

What are the benefits of secure email?

October 3, 2010 at 12:58 am

Security has become more important as people have begun to use their computers for more things. Many people use their email at work as well as at home. Cellphones and mobile devices now have the ability to surf the internet and check and send email. More and more purchases and other transactions are made online. This is all very convenient, but it can create security risks.

Many of your personal email messages probably aren’t of much interest to people other than the recipient, but you might want to keep others from snooping, anyway. If you send someone identifying personal information like your full name and address, you might want to consider using encryption. Even if the chances of it being intercepted are fairly low, it’s not a risk that you should take. Crimes like fraud and identity theft have become more common in recent years, and one reason is that people may have become more lax when they are sharing private information online, as well as just using the internet to do more things.

Regular email can be intercepted by other people, especially if you are on a public, shared network, or if your wireless network is not password protected. Even if you password protect your wireless connection, it may still be possible for others to access your email messages. Using email encryption gives you added protection from anyone who may be snooping in your private email or accessing your messages over a wireless network.

These types of services offer many options, with different ways of sending secure email (on their website, using your webmail, or downloading software for use with Outlook), as well as options that allow you to limit the number of times a message can be read, or to put an expiration date on the message. Secure email gives you more control over the email than regular email offers, and it provides added security whenever you are sending something you don’t want unauthorized people to see. When you want to send a secure message, you just need to decide what portion of the message should be encrypted, decide on a password, and share it with the recipient, who will use the password to unencrypt the email.

What is encrypted email and how does it work?

September 26, 2010 at 1:02 am

Encrypted email can allow you to password protect all or just a part of any email that you send. It works by using a key to scramble the part of the message that you want to encrypt. When you give the password to the recipient, he or she can use it to view the encrypted portion of the message.

Encrypted email can be used by logging onto a secure email provider’s website and composing an email there, by downloading and using the provider’s software for Outlook, or by having the mail delivered by their servers, using their site as your outgoing SMTP client.

Composing your message on the site is probably the most convenient and easiest for most people. You can also add a suffix when you use your regular email client instead; however, this is only secure when going from the website to the recipient, not when it is being transmitted from your computer to the site. Composing it on the website or using the special add-on software with your Outlook, however, can also be done easily and will encrypt the file when it leaves your computer, offering more security.

There are also other features of sending encrypted email that you can take advantage of, such as putting a read-limit on your messages, limiting the number of times that they can be opened, or setting an expiration date. You can encrypt some of the email, or the entire thing, and you can also send attachments.

You will use a simple command (like .p or .password) to begin encrypting the email. You place this command inside the message, before anything that you want encrypted. The password needs to be shared with the person to whom you’re sending the message, of course, but you should do this via some other channel, like telling them in person or on the telephone, since you don’t want the password stored as a message in the same email account you are sending the encrypted file to. This would be a security problem, since if someone intercepted the email or hacked into the account, they would immediately have access to the password for the encrypted messages.

Can I set an expiration date while sending secure email?

September 19, 2010 at 1:04 am

You may know some of the reasons that sending secure email can protect your private information, but you may not know that services are available that can set expiration dates on these messages, as well. Why would you want to set an expiration date on an email message? There are several reasons, and several ways that you can use these options to improve the security of your email.

Some information is only useful for a certain period of time. If it is sensitive information and you need to share it over email, it might end up sitting in someone’s email inbox for a long time. You don’t know if someone else may be looking at their email. You may only want to allow that person access to it for a certain time period, and then the message will not be viewable anymore.

Another possibility is setting a limit on the number of times that an email can be read. This serves a similar purpose to allowing an email to have an expiration date. If the information contained in your message is important and sensitive, you might want the recipient to look at it only a few times, and only when they need to. You may not want them to be able to check back and look at it in a month or a year, when they no longer need access to that information. You may also not want that email just sitting around in their inbox or downloaded to their computer forever for the same reason: you never know if unauthorized people may be looking at it or hacking that person’s email, and you might not even want the recipient to have access to the information forever.

Email encryption allows you more security than your regular email service, and you can use other features like setting expiration dates or limiting the number of times a message can be read, further improving your security. You don’t have to encrypt the entire message, either; it is possible to encrypt only a part of the message, so that the recipient has to enter a password to read that part of the email.

Can I use a secure email service to send sensitive information online?

September 12, 2010 at 1:15 am

There are many reasons you might want to encrypt your outgoing email, and a lot of it depends on just what you are sending. Most of the time, it might not be that important to you if someone reads your email; but other times, you might want to take some added precautions, especially if you’re sending private data or personal identifying information.

How can someone end up reading your mail? Your email account may be password protected, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for other people to find out that password and look at your mail. That’s a good reason to make your passwords hard to guess, and to use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters as well as numbers, and to not write it down anywhere people can see it. But snooping coworkers or family members aren’t the only people who might look at your mail. Identity thieves may also attempt to intercept mail or hack into email accounts, looking for personal information that can then be used to open credit cards or apply for loans in someone else’s name. You might not care if a coworker sees something like your vacation photos you are sending to family members; but you should be careful that private information can’t be read by those who could commit fraud in your name.

Email encryption is a way to encrypt your messages, either just a part or the entire thing, using a key. Once you decide on a password, you can share the password with the person you are sending the message to. Even if someone intercepts your message or hacks into the recipient’s email account, they won’t be able to read the message without the password. There are even ways to make printing and copying the email difficult, and to set limits on the number of times the message can be viewed. It’s okay to use regular email for many things, but you should be extra careful and use a secure email service if any of the information you are sending could possibly be misused if unauthorized people were to read it.

What is HIPAA compliant email?

September 5, 2010 at 1:18 am

“HIPAA” stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which was passed in 1996. It regulates many types of health care facilities, and it requires that health care organizations take measures to protect the privacy of their patients’ information. This applies to any information that could be used to identify the person, as well as information pertaining to any medical history, health care, or details about payment for that care.

Normally, this type of information is only available to the parties involved: the doctor, the patient, the insurance provider. With the internet, however, it is possible for email messages to be intercepted and read by unauthorized people. HIPPA tries to prevent this by making sure every takes more precautions when sending these types of information on the internet.

If you ever need to send or receive this type of information via email, you should take the appropriate precautions to protect the privacy of everyone involved. It can be possible to send private information online and still have that information remain secure, but you can’t be assured of that if you’re only using your regular email account. The added security of using email encryption can protect your information and give everyone involved added peace of mind.

Just because you might not think you are a target of a hacker doesn’t mean that someone couldn’t access your email. That’s why you should always take precautions, especially when personal information needs to be shared over email. Regular email accounts can easily be hacked or intercepted. Information sent over shared and unsecured web connections may be accessed by people who do not have permission to do so.

Anything that can identify a person or gives any details of their health care, whether it’s about their medical history or payments for doctor visits, is regulated under HIPAA. Sending secure email is essential to help maintain the privacy of everyone involved, and to keep unauthorized parties from gaining access to that information. The internet can help you to share information more easily, but you should still be concerned and cautious about data you send. Secure email can allow you to worry less about your messages being intercepted.

Sending secure email can prevent others from reading your mail.

August 29, 2010 at 1:19 am

Security is a big issue when it comes to the internet. Not only must you be wary of things like spyware and computer viruses, but you may also have concerns about the email and other information being seen by others. These days, email account storage is getting bigger and bigger, and people are storing more and more information online. Crimes like identity theft are on the rise and it’s become easier to get more personal information about people online using things like social networking websites. Email inboxes may contain everything from passwords, to bank account numbers. You may not be a target of anyone reading your email for these purposes, but security should still be an issue for everyone, because you are still better safe than sorry. Making hard to guess passwords and using a secure email service can make your messages a lot more secure.

If someone is reading your mail, you might not even know it. Just because someone has read an email doesn’t mean that it’s going to show up for you in your inbox as having been read. They could have easily marked it “mark as unread” to cover their tracks.

Of course, having a good password is also important, as well as keeping it safe. Don’t make a password that’s easy to guess, and try to commit it to memory, rather than writing it in a place where someone could potentially find it. If possible, make your own security questions instead of using the standard ones, because some people may know the answers to the standard questions and be able to retrieve your password.

After taking these precautions, you may still have concerns, and that’s why you should consider options like sending secure email. This allows you to choose a password for a specific email message, and then you can use it to encrypt all or part of the email. The password is only shared with the person you are sending it to (preferably using another method, like telling them in person or on the phone), so anyone else who is looking at your email will not be able to read it.

Email encryption will greatly improve your email security

August 22, 2010 at 1:20 am

There are many differing factors that can affect your security when you’re using email or doing anything on the internet. It may be possible for unwanted persons to “listen in” to the data going to and from your computer, especially if it’s over a Wifi connection in a public place. If you are using wireless internet at home, make sure you password protect your connection. Otherwise, anyone in the area could access your computer and potentially, the emails and other information being sent over your connection.

The consequences of someone peeking in on your private email can vary quite a bit as well. Most of the time, your email isn’t of any large interest to anyone besides you and the person you are emailing. Other times, you might discuss private matters that could cause some embarrassment if they fell into the wrong hands. But in other cases, you may be sharing information that is confidential and could have real consequences, if intercepted.

Things like medical records should be kept confidential, as well as any personal identifying information. Anything that contains information like a social security number or even full names and birth dates could potentially be used to commit fraud or identity theft. Even if there is only a slim chance that someone could be accessing your email, it’s probably not a risk that you should be willing to take.

Email encryption works by fully or partially scrambling the message using a key, and the recipient can only read it once they have entered a password. For the best security, you should discuss the password some other way that through the same email account. You should both agree on a password beforehand, perhaps over the telephone or in person, and then the other person will use that password and can view the decrypted email. Anyone attempting to view the email without the password will only see a scrambled file, and will be unable to read anything contained in the encrypted portion of the email. Sending secure email makes it much more difficult for hackers or even other people who use your computer to look at your email without permission.

Why use email encryption?

August 9, 2010 at 1:20 am

Security is an important concern for many people, especially when they are sending private or sensitive information online. We’ve all heard horror stories of people getting their identities stolen, or getting viruses on their computers, or even just having their email read by someone they didn’t want to read it. Keeping your computer free from spyware, choosing your passwords carefully, and sending encrypted email are some ways that you can help to keep your information more secure online.

There are many steps you can take to keep your information more secure online. It’s important to keep spyware off your computer, and to locate and remove it if it ever does get on it. You should keep your antivirus software updated so it had all the new virus and spyware definitions; otherwise, it may not pick up on some of the newer runs that may be infecting your computer. You should scan your computer regularly, and any time that your computer is running slow or crashing frequently, and you should also scan files that you download.

Choosing secure passwords is also important. Try to pick things that other people, even people who know you well, won’t guess. Birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries may be easy for you to remember, but they are usually among the first things someone else would guess. It’s better to use a combination of numbers and letters, and to mix them up. Upper and lower cases should be used, if possible. Don’t share them and don’t keep them written down on anything that’s in your wallet or purse.

Email encryption is another way to make sure no one is reading your emails. You or the recipient choose a password, and it is known only to the two of you. Then you send the email using a special encryption service, so that no one else is able to intercept the email and read it. The message can be partially or completely encrypted by using a code within the body of the email. These services are easy to use, you usually only have to add the site name to the recipient’s email address, and then one line of text to encrypt the mail in the body. You may also be able to send them from the service’s website.