What Is The Best Secure Email Provider For Healthcare Organizations?

Secure Email
Erik Kangas
June 12, 2025

The best secure email provider for healthcare organizations offers end-to-end encryption, HIPAA compliance features, audit logging capabilities, and integration options that meet the specific communication needs of providers, payers, and suppliers handling protected health information. Healthcare organizations need email solutions that protect patient data during transmission and storage while maintaining usability for clinical and administrative workflows. Finding the best secure email provider requires evaluating security features, compliance capabilities, integration options, user experience, and total cost of ownership across different platform types.

Security Features That Define The Best Secure Email Provider

The best secure email provider implements multiple layers of security protection to safeguard healthcare communications from unauthorized access and cyber threats. End-to-end encryption protects messages and attachments during transmission, ensuring that only intended recipients can decrypt and read email content. Transport Layer Security protocols secure connections between email servers, while message-level encryption protects content even when stored on email servers. Multi-factor authentication verifies user identities before granting access to email systems, requiring additional verification beyond standard passwords to prevent unauthorized account access. Access controls allow administrators to define which users can send emails to external recipients and specify what types of information can be included in different message categories. Data loss prevention features scan outgoing emails for protected health information and apply appropriate security measures or block transmission of potentially sensitive content.

HIPAA Compliance Capabilities And Administrative Controls

Administrative tools specifically designed for healthcare organizations help maintain HIPAA compliance while managing email communications efficiently. Centralized administration allows IT teams to configure security policies, manage user permissions, and monitor compliance across the entire organization from a single interface. Role-based access controls ensure that staff members can only access email functions appropriate to their job responsibilities. Automated policy enforcement applies security settings based on message content, recipient types, and organizational rules without requiring manual intervention from users. The best secure email provider generates compliance reports that demonstrate adherence to HIPAA requirements and provide documentation for regulatory audits. Business associate agreement templates help healthcare organizations establish appropriate contractual relationships with their email service providers.

Integration Options With Healthcare Systems

The best secure email provider integrates seamlessly with electronic health record systems, practice management platforms, and other healthcare applications to minimize workflow disruptions. Application programming interfaces enable custom integrations that allow users to send secure emails directly from patient records or billing systems without switching between multiple platforms. Single sign-on capabilities let users access email functions using their existing healthcare system credentials.

Integration with patient portal systems enables secure two-way communication between healthcare organizations and their patients through familiar interfaces. Automated triggers generate secure email notifications for appointment reminders, lab results, billing communications, and other routine patient interactions. Mobile device integration allows healthcare professionals to access secure email communications from smartphones and tablets while maintaining security protections.

User Experience And Patient Communication Features

Balancing security requirements with user-friendly interfaces encourages adoption and proper use across healthcare organizations. Intuitive design reduces training requirements and helps staff members quickly learn to use secure email features effectively. Message composition tools make it easy to create compliant emails with appropriate security settings without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

Patient communication features enable healthcare organizations to send secure messages that patients can access through user-friendly portals or secure email clients. Patient-facing interfaces work well for individuals with varying levels of technical expertise and diverse communication preferences. Message delivery confirmation and read receipts help healthcare staff verify that important communications reached intended recipients and were accessed appropriately.

Cost Considerations And Deployment Models

Flexible pricing models accommodate different organizational sizes and usage patterns while providing predictable costs for budget planning. Per-user subscription models allow healthcare organizations to scale email security based on their actual workforce size and communication needs. Cloud-based deployment reduces infrastructure costs and maintenance requirements while providing enterprise-grade security features.

Implementation costs include initial setup, data migration, staff training, and system integration expenses that should be factored into total cost evaluations. Return on investment calculations should consider potential savings from avoiding HIPAA violation penalties, reduced risk of data breaches, and improved operational efficiency from streamlined secure communication processes. Long-term cost analysis includes subscription fees, storage costs, and upgrade expenses that affect ownership calculations.

Evaluation Criteria For Selecting The Best Secure Email Provider

Healthcare organizations should evaluate potential secure email providers based on their specific communication patterns, technical infrastructure, regulatory requirements, and budget constraints. Security assessment criteria include encryption methods, access controls, audit capabilities, and threat protection features that address the organization’s risk profile. Compliance evaluation should verify that providers maintain appropriate certifications, business associate agreements, and documentation to support HIPAA compliance efforts.

Feature comparison helps identify which platforms offer the integration options, user experience elements, and administrative tools needed for specific use cases. Reference checks with similar healthcare organizations provide insights into real-world performance, implementation experiences, and ongoing support quality. Decision frameworks that consider security requirements, usability needs, integration capabilities, and budget constraints help organizations select secure email solutions that will serve their communication and compliance objectives effectively.

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Know the Biggest Email Threats Facing Healthcare Right Now

July 16, 2025
Pete Wermter

Due to its near-universal adoption, speed, and cost-effectiveness, email remains one of the most common communication channels in healthcare. Consequently, it’s one of the most frequent targets for cyber attacks, as malicious actors are acutely aware of the vast amounts of sensitive data contained in messages – and standard email communication’s inherent vulnerabilities.

In light of this, healthcare organizations must remain aware of the evolving email threat landscape, and implement effective strategies to protect the electronic protected health information (ePHI) included in email messages. Failing to properly secure email communications jeopardizes patient data privacy, which can disrupt operations, result in costly HIPAA compliance violations, and, most importantly, compromise the quality of their patients’ healthcare provision.

With all this in mind, this post details the biggest email threats faced by healthcare organizations today, with the greatest potential to cause your business or practice harm by compromising patient and company data. You can also get our 2025 report on the latest email threats, which includes strategies on how to overcome them.

Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts, corrupts, or deletes a healthcare organization’s data or critical systems, and enables the cybercriminals that deployed it to demand a payment (i.e., a ransom) for their restoration. Healthcare personnel can unwittingly download ransomware onto their devices by opening a malicious email attachment or clicking on a link contained in an email.

In recent years, ransomware has emerged as the email security threat with the most significant financial impact. In 2024, for instance, there were over 180 confirmed ransomware attacks with an average paid ransom of nearly $1 million.

Email Client Misconfiguration

While a healthcare organization may implement email security controls, many fail to know the security gaps of their current email service provider (ESP) or understand the value of a HIPAA compliant email platform, leaving data vulnerable to email threats, such as unauthorized access and ePHI exposure, and also, subsequently, a greater risk of compliance violations and reputation damage.

Common types of email misconfiguration include:

Lack of enforced TLS encryption: resulting in emails being transmitted in plaintext, rendering the patient data they contain readable by cybercriminals in the event of interception during transit.
Improper SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup: failure to configure or align these email authentication protocols correctly gives malicious actors greater latitude to successfully spoof trusted domains.
Disabled or lax user authentication: a lack of authentication measures, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), increases the risk of unauthorized access and ePHI exposure.
Misconfigured secure email gateways: incorrect rules or filtering policies can allow phishing emails through or block legitimate messages.
Outdated or unsupported email client software: simply neglecting to download and apply the latest updates or patches from the email client’s vendor can leave vulnerabilities, which are well-known to cybercriminals, exposed to attack.

Social Engineering Attacks

A social engineering attack involves a malicious actor deceiving or convincing healthcare employees into granting unauthorized access or exposing patient data. Relying on psychological manipulation, social engineering attacks exploit a person’s trust, urgency, fear, or curiosity, and encompass an assortment of threats, including phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, which are covered in greater depth below.

Phishing

As mentioned above, phishing is a type of social engineering attack, but they are so widespread that it warrants its own mention. Phishing sees malicious actors impersonating legitimate companies, or their employees, to trick victims into revealing sensitive patient data.

Subsequently, healthcare organizations can be subjected to several different types of phishing attacks, which include:

General phishing: otherwise known as bulk phishing or simply ‘phishing’, these are broad, generic attacks where emails are sent to large numbers of recipients, impersonating trusted entities to steal credentials or deliver malware.
Spear phishing: more targeted attacks that involve personalized phishing emails crafted for a specific healthcare organization or individual. These require more research on the part of malicious actors and typically use relevant insider details gleaned from their reconnaissance for additional credibility.
Whaling: a form of spear phishing that specifically targets healthcare executives or other high-level employees.
Clone phishing: when a cybercriminal duplicates a legitimate email that was previously received by the target, replacing links or attachments with malicious ones.
Credential phishing: also known as ‘pharming’, this involves emails that link to fake login pages designed to capture healthcare employees’ usernames and passwords under the guise of frequently used legitimate services.

Domain Impersonation and Spoofing

This category of threat revolves around making malicious messages appear legitimate, which can allow them to bypass basic email security checks. As alluded to above, these attacks exploit weaknesses in email client misconfigurations to trick the recipient, typically to expose and exfiltrate patient data, steal employee credentials, or distribute malware.

Domain spoofing email threats involve altering the “From” address in an email header to make it appear to be from a legitimate domain. If a healthcare organization fails to properly configure authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, there’s a greater risk of their email servers failing to flag malicious messages and allowing them to land in users’ inboxes.

Domain impersonation, on the other hand, requires cybercriminals to register a domain that closely resembles a legitimate one. This may involve typosquatting, e.g., using “paypa1.com” instead of “paypal.com”. Alternatively, a hacker may utilize a homograph attack, which substitutes visually similar characters, e.g., from different character sets, such as Cyrillic. Malicious actors will then send emails from these fraudulent domains, which often have the ability to bypass basic email filters because they aren’t exact matches for blacklisted domains. Worse still, such emails can appear authentic to users, particularly if the attacker puts in the effort to accurately mimic the branding, formatting, and tone used by the legitimate entity they’re attempting to impersonate.

Insider Email Threats

In addition to external parties, employees within a healthcare organization can pose email threats to the security of its PHI. On one hand, insider threats can be intentional, involving disgruntled employees or third-party personnel abusing their access privileges to steal or corrupt patient data. Alternatively, they could be the result of mere human error or negligence, stemming from ignorance, or even fatigue.

What’s more, insider threats have been exacerbated by the rise of remote and flexible conditions since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created more complex IT infrastructures that are more difficult to manage and control.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks

A BEC attack is a highly targeted type of social engineering attack in which cybercriminals gain access to, or copy, a legitimate email account to impersonate a known and trusted individual within an organization. BEC attacks typically require extensive research on the targeted healthcare company and rely less on malicious links or attachments, unlike phishing, which can make them difficult to detect.

Due to the high volume of emails transmitted within the healthcare industry, and the sensitive nature of PHI often included in communications to patients and between organizations, the healthcare industry is a consistent target of BEC attacks.

BEC attacks come in several forms, such as:

Account compromise: hijacking a real employee’s account and sending fraudulent messages.
Executive fraud: impersonating high-ranking personnel to request urgent financial transactions or access to sensitive data.
Invoice fraud: pretending to be a vendor asking for the payment of a fraudulent invoice into an account under their control.

Supply Chain Risk

Healthcare organizations increasingly rely on third-party vendors, including cloud service providers, software vendors, and billing or payment providers to serve their patients and customers. They constantly communicate with their supply chain partners via email, with some messages containing sensitive patient data; moreover, some of these organizations will have various levels of access to the PHI under their care.

Consequently, undetected vulnerabilities or lax security practices within your supply chain network could serve as entry points for email threats and malicious action. For instance, cybercriminals can compromise the email servers of a healthcare company’s third-party vendor or partner, and then send fraudulent emails from their domains to deploy malware or extract patient data.

Another, somewhat harrowing, way to understand supply chain risk is that while your organization may have a robust email security posture, in reality, it’s only as strong as that of your weakest third-party vendor’s security controls.

Download LuxSci’s Email Cyber Threat Readiness Report

To gain further insight into the biggest email threats to healthcare companies in 2025, including increasingly prevalent AI threats, download your copy of LuxSci’s Email Cyber Threat Readiness Report.

You’ll also learn about the upcoming changes to the HIPAA Security Rule and how it’s set to impact your organization going forward, and the most effective strategies for strengthening your email security posture.

Grab your copy of the report here and begin the journey to strengthening your company’s email threat readiness today.

What is the Best HIPAA Compliant Email?

July 10, 2025
Erik Kangas

The best HIPAA compliant email contains strong security features with ease of use and reasonable pricing. Top options include properly configured Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 accounts with Business Associate Agreements in place. Look at HIPAA compliant email platforms that offer encryption, access controls, audit logging, and secure mobile access while fitting their practice size, budget, and technical capabilities.

HIPAA Compliant Email Features

Healthcare professionals require email systems with particular security capabilities to protect client communications. Any HIPAA compliant email must include automatic encryption that works without requiring clients to create accounts or remember passwords. You need detailed access logs that document when messages were sent, received, and viewed. Message recall capabilities help address accidental disclosures before they become compliance issues. Calendar integration supports secure appointment scheduling and reminders. Mobile access controls ensure therapists can communicate safely from smartphones and tablets during off-hours or between office locations. Document sharing features allow secure exchange of intake forms and treatment plans. These capabilities help therapists maintain compliant communications while managing their practice efficiently.

Popular HIPAA Compliant Email Platforms

Several email providers offer solutions well-suited to mental health professionals. Hushmail for Healthcare includes features designed for therapists with web-based secure forms for client intake and customizable email templates. Paubox delivers encrypted email that works without requiring recipients to take extra steps, making it ideal for client communications. Virtru integrates with existing Gmail or Outlook accounts to add HIPAA compliant protections without changing email addresses. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 provide affordable options when properly configured with appropriate security settings and covered by Business Associate Agreements. Smaller therapy practices often prefer these mainstream platforms for their familiarity and integration with other practice tools.

Security Considerations for Healthcare Communications

Secure healthcare communications require thoughtful security approaches due to their sensitive nature. HIPAA compliant email should include protections against phishing attacks that might target patient information. Data loss prevention tools identify and secure messages containing sensitive information even when users forget to enable encryption. Account recovery procedures must balance security with practicality for small practices. Multi-factor authentication prevents unauthorized access even if passwords are compromised.

For example, healthcare personnel handling substance use disorder information need email systems that comply with both HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 requirements. Solutions should accommodate supervision relationships where communications may need controlled sharing with supervisors.

Client Experience and Usability Factors

The best HIPAA compliant email solutions balance security with positive client experiences. Buyers should evaluate how encryption affects the client’s process for reading and responding to messages. Some solutions require clients to create accounts or install software, while others deliver protected messages that open with minimal friction. Mobile compatibility matters as many clients prefer communicating from smartphones. Branding options allow therapists to maintain professional appearance in all communications. Automated responses help set appropriate expectations about response timing and emergency protocols. Client-facing secure forms streamline intake processes while maintaining compliance.

HIPAA Compliant Email Implementation for Medical Practices

Implementing secure email requires planning tailored to medical practice workflows. Solo practitioners need solutions with straightforward setup and minimal ongoing maintenance. Group practices benefit from centralized administration that enforces consistent security policies across all therapists. Practice management integration connects secure email with scheduling, billing, and documentation systems.

Transition planning helps migrate existing communications to new secure platforms without disrupting client relationships. Documentation templates ensure compliance with both HIPAA and professional ethical standards for electronic communications. Training materials must address both technical operation and appropriate clinical use cases. When implementing HIPAA compliant email practice admins should create workflow procedures that incorporate secure communication into their practice routines.

Cost Considerations For Selecting Email Services

Healthcare providers must balance security requirements with budget realities when selecting HIPAA compliant email. Pricing models vary significantly, with some services charging per user while others offer flat-rate plans better suited to solo practitioners. Additional fees may apply for features like secure forms, extra storage, or advanced security controls. Implementation costs include time spent on configuration, training, and client education about new communication methods. Some platforms offer discounted rates for professional association members or multi-year commitments. Buyers should calculate the total cost of ownership beyond monthly subscription fees, including technical support and compliance documentation. Affordable HIPAA compliant email options exist for practices of all sizes, but require thoughtful evaluation of both immediate pricing and long-term value.

Integrating Email with Broader Practice Security

HIPAA compliant email represents one component of comprehensive practice security. Email solutions should complement electronic health record systems while maintaining appropriate boundaries between clinical documentation and communications. Device management policies ensure therapists access email securely across computers, tablets, and smartphones. Backup procedures preserve communications while maintaining security protections. Incident response planning prepares therapists for addressing potential security issues or breaches. Regular security reviews evaluate whether email practices continue to meet evolving compliance requirements. By integrating email security with broader practice safeguards, therapists create communication systems that protect client information throughout its lifecycle.

What Are Email HIPAA Compliance Requirements?

July 2, 2025
Erik Kangas

Email HIPAA compliance is the privacy and security standards that healthcare organizations must implement when using electronic mail to transmit, store, or discuss protected health information. These requirements include encryption protocols, access controls, audit logging, and administrative safeguards that protect patient data during email communications. Healthcare providers, payers, and suppliers must understand email HIPAA compliance obligations to avoid costly violations while maintaining effective communication with patients, business partners, and other healthcare organizations. Understanding email HIPAA compliance helps organizations select appropriate email platforms, train staff on proper procedures, and implement policies that protect patient information while supporting clinical and administrative workflows.

Privacy Rule Requirements For Email HIPAA Compliance

The Privacy Rule establishes how healthcare organizations can use and disclose protected health information in email communications without violating patient privacy rights. Email HIPAA compliance permits healthcare organizations to use patient information for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations without obtaining individual patient authorization. Clinical communications between providers, billing discussions with payers, and care coordination activities fall under these permitted uses when proper safeguards are implemented.

Healthcare organizations must provide privacy notices to patients explaining how their information may be used in email communications and their rights regarding this information. Patients have the right to request restrictions on how their information is shared via email, though organizations are not always required to agree to these limitations. Email HIPAA compliance requires organizations to honor reasonable requests and provide mechanisms for patients to file complaints about email privacy practices.

Minimum necessary standards require healthcare organizations to limit email communications to the smallest amount of protected health information needed for the specific purpose. This means that diagnosis details, treatment notes, and other sensitive information should only be included when necessary for patient care or business operations. Organizations must evaluate their email practices to ensure compliance with minimum necessary requirements across different communication types.

Security Rule Standards For Email HIPAA Compliance

The Security Rule requires healthcare organizations to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect electronic protected health information transmitted via email. Administrative safeguards include appointing security officers responsible for email systems, conducting workforce training on email privacy requirements, and establishing procedures for granting and revoking email access. These safeguards ensure that only authorized personnel can access patient information during email communications.

Technical safeguards focus on access controls, encryption, audit logging, and transmission security for email systems. Email HIPAA compliance requires user authentication systems that verify the identity of individuals accessing email containing patient information. Encryption protects email content during transmission and storage, while audit logs track who accesses patient information and when these access events occur.

Physical safeguards protect computer systems, mobile devices, and facilities where email containing patient information is accessed or stored. Organizations must implement workstation security controls, device controls for mobile email access, and media disposal procedures for devices containing patient communications. These protections prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing patient information through physical security breaches.

Regular security assessments evaluate email systems for vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches or unauthorized disclosures. Email HIPAA compliance requires organizations to address identified weaknesses and maintain documentation of security measures. Penetration testing and vulnerability scanning help identify potential problems before they result in privacy violations.

Business Associate Requirements For Email HIPAA Compliance

Third-party email service providers that handle protected health information on behalf of healthcare organizations must operate as business associates under HIPAA regulations. Business associate agreements must specify how email providers will protect patient information, limit data use to authorized purposes, and report security incidents or unauthorized disclosures. Email HIPAA compliance requires healthcare organizations to verify that their email providers have appropriate security measures in place.

Common email business associates include cloud email providers, managed email services, and email security vendors. Each relationship requires careful evaluation of privacy and security risks along with appropriate contractual protections. Organizations must verify that business associates maintain their own HIPAA compliance programs and provide documentation of security measures.

Business associates must implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for email systems and ensure that subcontractors also comply with HIPAA requirements. This includes providing security training to their workforce, maintaining audit logs, and reporting security incidents to healthcare organizations. When business associate relationships end, email providers must return or destroy patient information as specified in their agreements.

Staff Training And Policy Development

Healthcare organizations must train staff on email HIPAA compliance requirements and organizational policies for handling patient information in electronic communications. Training programs should cover identification of protected health information, appropriate use of email systems, and procedures for reporting potential privacy violations. Staff members need to understand when email communications require additional security measures and how to use secure email platforms correctly.

Policy development includes establishing procedures for email encryption, recipient verification, and incident reporting when security concerns arise. Organizations should develop different policies for various types of email communications, including patient care coordination, billing discussions, and business partner communications. Regular policy updates address changing regulations and technology developments that affect email security.

Competency assessments verify that staff understand their responsibilities when handling patient information in email communications. Organizations should document training activities and maintain records of staff compliance with email privacy policies. Regular refresher training keeps staff updated on changing requirements and reinforces proper email security practices.

Monitoring And Incident Response For Email HIPAA Compliance

Healthcare organizations need ongoing monitoring programs to ensure that email practices remain compliant with HIPAA requirements and identify potential issues before they result in violations. Regular audits should examine email content for appropriate privacy protections, verify that security safeguards function correctly, and assess whether staff follow established policies. These audits help demonstrate ongoing commitment to protecting patient information.

Incident response procedures specifically address email-related security breaches or privacy violations, including notification requirements and remediation steps. Organizations must have clear procedures for investigating potential breaches involving email communications, determining whether notification is required, and implementing corrective actions to prevent future incidents. Training on incident response helps staff recognize and respond appropriately to email security issues.

Documentation requirements include maintaining records of email policies, training activities, security assessments, and compliance monitoring efforts. This documentation helps demonstrate compliance efforts during regulatory investigations and supports continuous improvement of email practices. Organizations should retain documentation for required periods and ensure records are complete and accessible when regulatory authorities request information about email HIPAA compliance practices.

Why is High Email Deliverability Essential for Healthcare Companies?

June 30, 2025
Pete Wermter

With email communication playing a critical role in the customer engagement strategies of virtually every organization, high email deliverability rates are vital to success across all industries. In the healthcare sector, however, the stakes can be far higher. An undelivered email isn’t merely an inconvenience or a lost sales opportunity; it could mean a missed appointment, a delay in a prescription refill, or a failure to get a patient critical healthcare information. Or worse, the email could end up in the hands of an unintended recipient, including bad actors and cybercriminals.

With this in mind, this post details why high email deliverability is essential for healthcare companies, as well as how your organization benefits from reliable and rapid email delivery.

Speed and Efficiency

The primary reason that high email deliverability is crucially important to healthcare organizations is to best guarantee essential communications that directly impact an individual’s healthcare journey reach them promptly. These transactional emails can include appointment reminders, prescription renewals, product order confirmations, test results, explanation of benefits notices, payment reminders, and invoices. Administrative notifications related to software or systems that a patient might use, such as a password reset for an online portal, also fall under the category of transactional emails.

When transactional emails are delayed or fail to reach people altogether, they can compromise a patient’s ability to access care, adhere to treatment plans, stay informed on key facets of their healthcare journey, and, ultimately, achieve optimal health outcomes.

When a patient fails to receive an expected email, such as a prescription confirmation, for example, it can leave them feeling confused and unsure of what to do next. For individuals who are sick, elderly, or managing chronic conditions, this can cause unnecessary stress, anxiety, and even compromise adherence to care plans.

In contrast, high email delivery rates create the opposite effect, helping patients get the communications and information they need. This increases their trust in your company and gives them a firmer sense of control over their healthcare journey.

Compliance with HIPAA Regulations

While the above point stresses the importance of reliable email delivery for the patient’s and customer’s benefit, healthcare companies also have a vested interest in ensuring communications reach the intended recipient for regulatory and patient privacy reasons.

To comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), emails that contain sensitive patient data, i.e., electronic protected health information (ePHI), must be securely delivered to the intended recipient. If, on the other hand, a communication containing ePHI fails to reach the intended recipient patient, that represents a failure in secure communications and a potential HIPAA violation for your organization.

After all, where did the patient’s data go? Was it delivered to the wrong person? Was it blocked by a spam filter and is left sitting unencrypted on a server somewhere?

If you can’t answer these questions, you could be exposed to a data breach, and it could result in a HIPAA violation, meaning your organization incurrs the associated consequences, including financial penalties and reputational damage. Conversely, deploying a fully HIPAA compliant email solution, such as LuxSci, supported by a dedicated infrastructure and designed for high email delivery enables your organization to include patient data in communications with confidence and ensure you messages land in the recipient’s inbox.

Greater Levels of Personalization and Engagement

Finally, high email deliverability rates are essential for healthcare organizations because they help drive greater levels of engagement with patients and customers. Higher email deliverability means better inbox placement, leading to more emails being opened, more links being clicked, and more conversions for your communications and campaigns.

In the case of healthcare retailers, for example, this equates to converting more prospects into customers and, consequently, maximizing the ROI of email marketing campaigns, in some cases with up to 80% better results.

While healthcare marketers, understandably, focus most of their efforts on crafting attention-grabbing headlines, personalizing the message content, and the email’s design elements, these factors are rendered irrelevant if the message fails to reach the recipient in the first place! When you take this into account, high email deliverability is a crucial component in optimizing the ROI of email communications and campaigns, and an all too often overlooked component at that.

Get Your Copy LuxSci’s Achieving High Email Deliverability Best Practices Paper

To learn more about the importance and value of high email deliverability for healthcare companies, download your copy of LuxSci’s latest Best Practices Paper: How to Achieve High Email Deliverability in Healthcare. You’ll discover:

How to opitmize performance for the different types of healthcare emails.
Powerful strategies for increasing your company’s email deliverability rates.
How small increases in email deliverability can have considerable effects on your marketing ROI

Grab your copy of the report here, and learn how to enhance your email deliverability rates today.

What Is HIPAA Compliant Marketing for Healthcare?

April 4, 2025
Erik Kangas

HIPAA compliant marketing for healthcare refers to promotional communications that follow HIPAA Privacy Rule requirements when using or disclosing protected health information (PHI). Healthcare organizations can conduct marketing activities while protecting patient privacy by obtaining proper authorizations, implementing security measures, and ensuring all marketing communications meet regulatory standards for PHI protection. Healthcare marketing has changed dramatically with digital communication channels, yet patient privacy remains paramount. Organizations must balance effective marketing strategies with strict compliance requirements to avoid violations that can result in hefty penalties and damaged reputations.

Understanding Marketing Under HIPAA Regulations

HIPAA defines marketing as communications that encourage recipients to purchase or use products or services, with certain exceptions for treatment communications and health care operations. The regulation distinguishes between communications that require patient authorization and those that fall under permitted uses without authorization. Face-to-face marketing communications between healthcare providers and patients do not require written authorization under HIPAA rules. Similarly, promotional gifts of nominal value given during these encounters are permitted without further consent. Most other marketing activities involving PHI require explicit patient authorization before implementation.

Healthcare organizations must understand when their communications cross from permissible patient care activities into regulated marketing territory. Educational materials about treatment options generally qualify as health care operations, while promotional emails about cosmetic procedures usually require marketing authorizations.

Authorization Requirements for Healthcare Marketing

Written authorization forms the foundation of HIPAA compliant marketing for healthcare organizations. Patients must provide explicit consent before their PHI can be used for marketing purposes, and these authorizations must meet specific regulatory requirements to remain valid.Authorization forms must clearly describe what PHI will be used or disclosed, the purpose of the marketing activity, and who will receive the information. The form must also explain that patients can revoke authorization at any time and that refusal to authorize marketing communications will not affect their treatment.

Healthcare organizations receiving financial remuneration for marketing activities face stricter authorization requirements. When third parties pay for marketing communications, authorization forms must disclose these financial relationships and explain how patient information will be shared with outside entities.

Permitted Marketing Activities Without Authorization

Certain healthcare marketing activities can proceed without individual patient authorization under HIPAA rules. These exceptions allow organizations to conduct marketing while maintaining compliance through other protective measures.Communications describing health-related products or services provided by the healthcare organization or its business associates qualify for authorization exemptions. For example, hospitals can send newsletters about their cardiac services or diabetes management programs without individual consent forms.

Case management and care coordination communications also receive authorization exemptions when they promote health or wellness activities. Healthcare organizations can recommend disease management programs, wellness initiatives, or preventive care services without obtaining separate marketing authorizations.

Technology Solutions for Compliant Email Marketing

Email marketing platforms designed for healthcare must incorporate security features that protect PHI during transmission and storage. These systems encrypt communications, maintain audit logs, and provide controls that help organizations manage patient authorizations and preferences. Segmentation capabilities allow healthcare marketers to target specific patient populations while maintaining privacy protections. Organizations can send diabetes education materials to patients with relevant diagnoses without exposing individual health conditions to unauthorized recipients.

Automated opt-out mechanisms help healthcare organizations respect patient preferences and maintain compliance with both HIPAA and CAN-SPAM requirements. These systems track authorization status and automatically exclude patients who revoke consent from future marketing communications.

Managing Patient Data in Marketing Campaigns

HIPAA compliant marketing for healthcare requires careful handling of patient data throughout campaign development and execution. Organizations must implement policies that limit PHI access to authorized personnel and document all data usage for compliance auditing.Marketing teams need training on HIPAA requirements and access controls that prevent unauthorized PHI disclosure. Role-based permissions ensure that only personnel with legitimate business needs can access patient information for marketing purposes.

Data retention policies must align with HIPAA requirements and organizational needs. Healthcare marketers should establish schedules for deleting PHI when it is no longer needed for marketing activities and maintain documentation of data destruction for compliance records.

Compliance Auditing and Risk Management

Regular compliance audits help healthcare organizations identify potential vulnerabilities in their marketing practices and address issues before they result in violations. These assessments should review authorization procedures, data handling practices, and technology security measures. Risk assessment processes must evaluate both internal marketing activities and third-party vendor relationships. Business associate agreements become necessary when outside marketing companies access PHI, and these contracts must include appropriate safeguards and liability provisions.

Documentation requirements include maintaining records diligently to demonstrate commitment to HIPAA compliant marketing for healthcare activities and their ability to respond appropriately to potential breaches or violations.

What is a HIPAA Compliant Email?

October 11, 2024
Erik Kangas

A HIPAA compliant email incorporates encryption, access controls, audit capabilities, and secure archiving to protect electronic protected health information during transmission and storage. Regular email services like Gmail or Yahoo Mail do not meet HIPAA requirements without enhanced security measures. Healthcare organizations must implement secure email platforms or security add-ons, establish proper usage policies, and obtain Business Associate Agreements from service providers to maintain HIPAA compliant email communications.

HIPAA Compliant Email Encryption Requirements

HIPAA compliant email services must encrypt messages containing protected health information during transmission and storage. Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption protects messages while traveling between email servers, preventing interception by unauthorized parties. End-to-end encryption provides stronger protection by encrypting message content so only intended recipients can read it. Message-level encryption allows sending protected information to recipients who might not have secure email systems. Healthcare organizations implement gateway encryption solutions that automatically encrypt messages containing patient information. Without these encryption protocols, sensitive healthcare data remains vulnerable to access by unauthorized individuals during transmission across networks or while stored on servers.

Secure Access Control Mechanisms

Controlling who can access email accounts is an important aspect of maintaining HIPAA compliant email systems. Multi-factor authentication requires users to verify their identity through methods beyond passwords. Account lockout policies temporarily disable access after multiple failed login attempts. Password complexity requirements ensure users create strong credentials that resist guessing or cracking attempts. Session timeout features automatically log users out after periods of inactivity. Role-based access controls limit which staff members can send, receive, or view emails containing protected health information. When properly implemented, these access restrictions create multiple layers of protection that reduce the risk of unauthorized email access.

Audit and Monitoring Functions

HIPAA compliant email platforms include logging and monitoring capabilities that track message handling. Email systems record message sending, receiving, and access activities with user identification and timestamps. These logs create audit trails demonstrating who accessed what information and when these actions occurred. Email security gateways monitor outgoing messages for potential policy violations or unencrypted protected health information. Organizations review these logs to identify unusual patterns or potential security issues. Monitoring tools can alert administrators about suspicious email activities that might indicate compromised accounts. Regular auditing allows healthcare organizations to demonstrate compliance during regulatory reviews while providing essential information for investigating any potential security incidents.

HIPAA Compliant Email Retention and Archiving

Healthcare organizations must maintain HIPAA compliant email archives that preserve messages according to retention requirements. Email archiving solutions capture and securely store all messages, including those deleted from user inboxes. These archives maintain the encryption, access controls, and audit capabilities needed for protected health information. Retention policies determine how long different types of messages must be preserved based on regulatory and organizational requirements. Legal hold features prevent deletion of messages relevant to investigations or litigation. Archive search capabilities allow retrieving specific messages when needed for patient care or compliance verification. The combination of secure storage and retrieval functionality ensures healthcare communications remain available when needed while maintaining appropriate protections throughout the message lifecycle.

Business Associate Agreements

Healthcare organizations must obtain Business Associate Agreements from providers of HIPAA compliant email services. These agreements establish the email provider’s responsibilities for protecting healthcare information under HIPAA regulations. The BAA outlines security measures, breach notification procedures, and compliance documentation requirements. Organizations should verify exactly which components of the email service fall under BAA coverage, as some features might be excluded. Email providers offer standardized BAAs as part of their healthcare-focused services. Without properly executed agreements, healthcare organizations remain legally responsible for any compliance failures or data breaches occurring through their email service providers, potentially resulting in regulatory penalties.

Staff Training and Usage Policies

Technology alone cannot guarantee HIPAA compliant email without proper user behavior. Organizations must establish clear policies governing appropriate email usage for protected health information. Staff training covers what information can be included in emails, when encryption must be used, and how to verify message security before sending. Many healthcare systems implement visual indicators that help users identify when they’re composing secure versus standard emails. Regular reminders help maintain awareness as email threats and regulations evolve. Healthcare organizations require staff acknowledgment of email policies to document training completion. Even the most sophisticated email security technology can be undermined by simple human errors, making training and clear usage guidelines fundamental to maintaining compliant communications.

What is HIPAA Compliant Hosting?

December 16, 2024
Erik Kangas

HIPAA compliant hosting provides infrastructure for storing protected health information while meeting HIPAA Security Rule requirements. These hosting environments include physical, technical, and administrative safeguards such as encryption, access controls, audit logging, and disaster recovery. Healthcare organizations use HIPAA compliant hosting to maintain patient data security and regulatory compliance when storing electronic protected health information.

Core Requirements for HIPAA Compliant Hosting

HIPAA compliant hosting environments incorporate security measures to protect electronic health information. Data encryption safeguards information both during storage and transmission between systems. Access control systems limit data viewing to authorized personnel through user authentication and permission settings. Hosting providers maintain comprehensive audit logs that track all system access and modifications to protected information. Physical security measures protect server equipment through restricted facility access, surveillance systems, and environmental controls. These protections work to create a secure foundation for healthcare data storage and processing.

Infrastructure and Data Center Standards

HIPAA compliant hosting facilities maintain physical security standards more so than typical data centers. Providers implement layered facility access restrictions including biometric verification, security personnel, and monitored entry points. Environmental controls regulate temperature, humidity, and fire suppression to prevent data loss from environmental factors. Redundant power systems with backup generators ensure continuous operation during outages. Network infrastructure includes firewall protection, intrusion detection systems, and secure connectivity options. These facilities undergo regular security assessments and maintain documentation of all physical security measures to demonstrate compliance with HIPAA requirements.

Business Associate Agreements for Hosting

Healthcare organizations must establish Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with their hosting providers before storing protected health information. These legally binding contracts define provider responsibilities for maintaining HIPAA compliance and protecting patient data. BAAs outline security incident response procedures, breach notification requirements, and liability terms. The agreement establishes permitted uses of health information and prohibits unauthorized disclosure. Reputable HIPAA compliant hosting providers offer standard BAAs that meet regulatory requirements without extensive negotiation. Organizations maintain copies of these agreements as part of their compliance documentation for potential regulatory audits.

Encryption and Data Protection Methods

HIPAA compliant hosting employs multiple encryption methods to protect health information throughout its lifecycle. Providers implement full-disk encryption for data storage to prevent unauthorized access even if physical drives are compromised. Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols encrypt data during transmission between systems. Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology creates secure connections for remote access to hosted systems. Database-level encryption provides additional protection for sensitive information fields. Hosting providers maintain encryption key management systems with strict access controls. These encryption approaches protect data against various threat vectors while maintaining system performance.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

HIPAA compliant hosting includes disaster recovery capabilities to prevent data loss during system failures or natural disasters. Providers maintain geographically dispersed backup systems that replicate data according to defined recovery point objectives. Regular backup verification processes ensure data integrity and restorability. Documented business continuity plans outline recovery procedures and responsible personnel. Hosting environments include redundant system components to eliminate single points of failure. Annual disaster recovery testing validates these systems under simulated emergency conditions. These measures fulfill the HIPAA contingency planning requirements while providing healthcare organizations with continuous access to patient information.

Compliance Monitoring and Documentation

HIPAA compliant hosting providers maintain documentation of their security measures and compliance activities. Regular risk assessments identify potential vulnerabilities in hosted systems and infrastructure. Security teams conduct penetration testing to validate protection effectiveness. Compliance certification reports from independent auditors demonstrate adherence to HIPAA standards and other frameworks like HITRUST or SOC 2. Providers maintain records of staff training on security procedures and HIPAA requirements. These documentation practices help healthcare organizations demonstrate due diligence in selecting appropriate hosting environments for protected health information.

Improve the Patient Experience with Personalized Patient Engagement

November 7, 2023
LuxSci

Patient expectations of healthcare providers have dramatically changed in the last decade. The introduction of technology and the widespread adoption of digital communications in other industries have increased the pressure on healthcare providers to provide a comparable experience.

The 2023 Healthcare Consumer Perspectives on Digital Engagement and AI report conducted by Dynata Research found that more patients are adopting digital tools to manage their health and want their providers to provide a consistent experience across all channels. To improve the patient experience, a personalized patient engagement strategy is necessary.

Personalized Patient Engagement Improves the Patient Experience

Healthcare organizations manage so much data that can be used to improve the patient experience. As audience segmentation and personalization techniques have become more common in other industries like e-commerce and personal care, consumers are starting to expect the same experiences from their healthcare providers.

For example, media streaming services make personalized recommendations for new shows based on what you have previously watched. People like these features because it helps them discover new content they may not know about. Likewise, patients are beginning to expect a similar personalized patient engagement experience from their healthcare provider. Suppose a patient wants to control their diabetes diagnosis and communicates with their provider about this at an appointment. Afterward, when they log into the patient portal or receive follow-up information, they expect to receive relevant information that aligns with that provider’s conversation.

Proactive, personalized patient engagement can also drive patients to make the right choices in managing their health. By sending patients the correct information at the right time in the context of their individual health journey, it is easier for them to manage their own health.

Shifting Preferences for Digital Tools Enable Personalized Patient Engagement

As more people are open to incorporating digital tools into their healthcare journeys, it has revealed new patient engagement opportunities. Several reasons led healthcare organizations to embrace digital tools. The coronavirus pandemic kicked off a necessary wave of digital transformation because of the rapid transmission of the disease through close contact. The desire to use these tools has remained strong even after institutions largely reopened in 2021. Patients have also shown no desire to go back to the way things used to be. Digital channels and tools like patient portals, email, medical devices, and mobile applications all make it easier for patients to manage their health on the go.

As patient preferences have shifted to embrace digital channels and technologies, organizations that can implement digital-first personalized patient engagement strategies intelligently are more likely to have satisfied and healthier patients. However, healthcare organizations must strive to provide a consistent experience across both in-person and digital avenues. According to the survey, the number one reason consumers would consider changing their healthcare provider is “complex or confusing experiences.” Poorly implemented and executed patient engagement can negatively impact the patient experience and retention, so it’s essential to be thoughtful in your approach.

How to Personalize the Patient Experience

Traditionally, HIPAA compliance requirements have made it difficult for healthcare providers to utilize protected health information (PHI) in personalized patient engagement efforts. Using PHI in communications is vital to craft messaging relevant to the patient’s health journey. However, when transmitting and storing PHI, HIPAA regulations must be followed to protect patient privacy.

The first step to executing personalized patient engagement involves selecting the right tools. Many traditional digital engagement tools are not designed to meet these stringent encryption and security requirements. By selecting tools that meet HIPAA’s technical requirements (like LuxSci’s Secure Marketing and Secure High Volume Email) and properly training employees, healthcare teams can employ the same segmentation and personalization techniques to reach patients with relevant and consistent communications.

Conclusion

Personalizing patient engagement is one way to improve patient marketing and retention. Contact us today to learn more about improving the patient experience with secure email communications.