Email sometimes seems like magic because of how quickly messages are transmitted across the internet. While the rapid delivery speeds justify this presumption, a lot must happen for an email to reach you. Email sending relies on a protocol called the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to make its way across the internet to your recipient’s […]
Email encryption is an important topic to understand when evaluating HIPAA compliant email vendors. Encryption is an addressable standard for HIPAA compliance, but if you send sensitive information via email, encryption is the easiest way to meet the standard. The two most common email encryption methods include SMTP TLS and Secure Portal Pick Up. This […]
Electronic medical billing requires access to protected health information to accurately bill and receive payment for medical treatments. While not covered entities, medical billing companies are often contracted as business associates and fall under HIPAA regulations. Title II of HIPAA applies directly to medical billing companies. It dictates the proper uses and disclosures of protected […]
Email gateways are a leading cause of security breaches. The optimistic view is that effective email security practices, firewalls, mobile device security, wireless security, endpoint security, web security, behavioral best practices, data loss prevention and network access control – among other solutions – can ensure foolproof security. The realistic view is that email – or […]
HIPAA’s encryption requirements fall in a grey area. This is mainly due to two reasons: encryption is required when ‘deemed appropriate’, which means email encryption is not absolutely necessary and ‘mutual consent’ can be used in place of encryption. there are a number of ‘addressable requirements’ pertaining to the technical safeguards as far as ePHI […]
