Healthcare
In the healthcare industry, Internet and e-mail use is growing rapidly and with that growth come a rise in the challenges that the industry faces. Medical professionals are using e-mail not only to collaborate on medical issues with colleagues and staff, but also to communicate with patients. This trend spotlights information privacy and security, since e-mail messages often contain confidential patient information.
Medical entities also are under the close watch of regulatory bodies enforcing new rules associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. The administrative simplification section of HIPAA, which, among other things, mandates privacy and security of personal health information, has sparked a whirlwind of concern within the healthcare industry.
The HIPAA privacy rule specifically applies to e-mail security when confidential patient information is included in e-mail communications. Organizations must now take extra steps to ensure that the e-mail transmission and storage of protected health information is secure. Substantial fines, business disruption, and civil liability are a few of the consequences healthcare organizations face when accused of mishandling sensitive information or violating privacy laws, such as HIPAA and other government regulations. To manage privacy risks, healthcare companies must implement enterprise-wide privacy risk management programs that leverage email systems for safe exchange of information and secure delivery of messages.
“The Privacy Rule seems complicated to many people who are outside the business, but if you look at it, it’s really focused on things that have been around in other industries for a long time. Being able to communicate securely through e-mail is a great thing. IronMail has helped us secure our patient information and transmit critical messages without worrying if we are violating a policy or regulation. It’s been a great, great help.”
Jim Donaldson, Corporate Privacy and Security Officer for Baptist Health Care
CipherTrust can help healthcare companies navigate through the maze of government regulations and privacy issues. CipherTrust solutions are designed to meet the needs of the healthcare industry and offer:
- Content filtering to evaluate whether e-mail messages include protected health information (PHI) based on identifying factors such as patient data, drug names and medical procedures
- Secure delivery of sensitive information such as test results, patient records, and explanation of benefits (EOBs) to recipients
- Unified policy management solution to enforce HIPAA privacy and security compliance
- Archiving features that provide comprehensive reporting and easy integration with existing patient record systems
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