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The Benefits of Using PHI in Patient Communications

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Some healthcare organizations do not allow PHI to be sent outside the patient’s health record. However, by allowing your marketing and administrative teams to use PHI in patient communication, you can streamline operations, improve the patient experience, and increase revenue.

Although the healthcare industry is traditionally slow to adopt new technologies, the past few years have rapidly accelerated the shift to digital communications. The reasons for these shifts are varied and will be explored in detail below. No matter the reason, one thing is certain- organizations adapting to the modern digital age are thriving, while those resisting change are falling behind in meeting patient expectations.

Changing Technology Preferences

Rapid technological innovation has made it possible to communicate securely at scale. As broadband access has increased, people are incorporating it into their daily lives. In 2022, 92% of Americans reported using email, and 49% checked it every few hours. Many people now prefer to receive business communications via email because it is asynchronous and can be engaged with when it fits into their schedules.

Healthcare organizations that utilize email for external communication are experiencing better response rates and fewer patient no-shows. Email already fits into the daily lives of many patients and doesn’t require them to take extra steps to receive information about their healthcare journey.

The Rise of Healthcare Consumerism

Healthcare consumerism refers to patients’ personal choices and responsibility in paying for and managing their health. Patients are no longer stuck with one provider or practice. They have more choices than ever and will shop around for new providers if unsatisfied with their experience.

If healthcare providers are not delivering a digital experience that meets patient expectations, they could risk losing patients and revenue.

In addition, as younger generations are taking control of their healthcare, they are used to digital-first experiences that are personalized to their needs. If organizations are unwilling to invest into personalized digital patient experiences, they will not adequately serve the next generation of healthcare consumers.

Staffing Challenges

The healthcare industry is not immune to recent staffing challenges. Staffing shortages have left fewer employees available to do more tasks, including patient care. Introducing digital technology into your patient communication strategy can help automate and streamline common communication workflows like:

Appointment reminders
Pre- and post-procedure instructions
Health education messages
Vaccine reminders
Medication adherence reminders
Billing

Automating common workflows frees up time for staff to focus on urgent patient needs and improves the patient experience.

How to Safely Use PHI in Patient Communications

Patients are already communicating with their healthcare providers one-on-one via email. The question is, how can you protect this data while communicating at scale for marketing and educational purposes? There are tools (like LuxSci’s Secure Marketing and Secure High Volume Email solutions) that are designed to support the unique security needs of the healthcare industry while providing the personalized digital experience that patients desire.

Protecting PHI in Patient Communications

PHI needs to be protected in emails with advanced encryption technology. TLS encryption should be used as often as possible because it provides a user experience like regular email without requiring a portal login. For marketing and patient education emails, TLS is sufficient to protect data and allows patients to readily engage with the email content. By properly vetting and choosing the right vendors, marketing and administrative teams can communicate with patients via email without violating HIPAA.

Personalization at Scale

The power of PHI is undeniable. When healthcare marketers can harness healthcare data to create ultra-personalized campaigns, it increases their relevance and the likelihood that the content will be engaged with, delivering a better ROI. Our solutions integrate via API to securely personalize messages and trigger emails when specific conditions are met. This allows marketers to send relevant messages at the right time when it is relevant to the patient’s healthcare journey.

Modern technology is needed to serve today’s patients. Meeting patients where they are with the information they need on the channels they prefer is vital to improving healthcare outcomes for the most vulnerable populations. Using PHI in patient communications gives your organization a comparative advantage by providing a better patient experience.

Tags: automation, email encryption, patient communication, patient experience, personalization, phi, secure email, secure marketing, tls encryption
Posted in HIPAA Email Compliance, HIPAA Marketing
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Futureproof Your Data Loss Prevention Strategy with Always On Email Encryption

Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

The threats to sensitive data keep increasing, and organizations are struggling to stay secure. With the government considering new cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure, many organizations are reviewing their data loss prevention policies and are looking for ways to improve their security stance. This article reviews standard data loss prevention methods, their shortcomings, and how adding always-on email encryption to your toolbox can help futureproof your communications.

What is Email Data Loss Prevention?

Data loss prevention, also known as DLP, ensures that sensitive data is not lost, misused, or accessed by unauthorized users. DLP software allows users to classify business-critical data and take specific actions when those data are present in email messages. If sensitive data is identified, data loss prevention tools take some action to prevent users from accidentally or maliciously sharing data that could put the organization at risk.

How does DLP Technology work?

There are two main types of data loss prevention tools available:

Rules-based DLP
AI and Machine Learning based DLP

We will primarily discuss rules-based DLP in this article. But first, DLP tools that use AI or machine learning are trained on an extensive data set to identify when email messages sent by your employees contain sensitive information.

In rules-based DLP software, administrators create rules that trigger the data loss prevention technology to take a particular action. Some examples of rules include:

Encrypting emails that contain social security numbers.
Not sending emails that contain health data (as identified by the organization).
Flagging emails that include specific keywords like “contract,” “financial report,” or “confidential information.”

Once the rules are in place, the DLP software will scan every outgoing email message to search for data that meets the criteria. When the DLP detects sensitive data, it takes an action that the administrator also determines. Some common protective actions include:

Not sending the email at all.
Adding a warning label or sending a notice to the email sender.
Encrypting the email and sending it to a web portal.

Why is DLP technology insufficient for security and compliance?

While DLP technology may capture most sensitive data, it is not infallible. In industries like healthcare and finance, even one mistake could lead to a breach with severe financial penalties.

Looking at how most data loss prevention software works, it’s easy to see how it can fail. Rule-based DLP requires administrators to thoroughly document and catalog every possible variation of the keywords and number formats that could indicate the presence of sensitive data. Even one typo could throw off DLP software and cause data to be sent without protection. Sensitive healthcare and financial data do not always fall cleanly into pre-determined categories, and there are always exceptions to rules.

Conversely, false positives from extremely strict rule-making can result in delayed business communications and inefficiency. If DLP rules are too restrictive and too many messages are not sent or locked behind a portal, employees may use less secure channels to get around DLP technology.

How to Close Data Loss Prevention Gaps with Always-On Email Encryption

Highly regulated industries should consider sending all messages with a baseline of TLS encryption instead of relying on DLP technology to trigger it. TLS encryption is secure enough to meet most compliance requirements and has added usability benefits. TLS-encrypted messages appear just like regular, unencrypted emails in the recipient’s inbox, making them easy to read and respond to but without the risk of interception or eavesdropping. When all messages are automatically encrypted, you can worry less about DLP failure and data leakage.

DLP scanning can also trigger web portal pick-up encryption for more sensitive messages. Sending highly confidential information like financial statements, medical records, and board meeting minutes requires added security that can be triggered by DLP technology. Reducing the number of rules required makes data loss prevention tools easier for administrators to manage. Also, removing encryption choices from employees improves their productivity and reduces risk.

Message encryption may only be optional for a little while longer. In 2022, CISA issued Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals, which recommended TLS encryption as part of prioritized cybersecurity practices that critical infrastructure owners and operators can implement to reduce the likelihood and impact of known risks and adversary techniques. Prepare for the future and protect your sensitive data by using LuxSci’s easy-to-use email encryption tools today.

Tags: content filters, data loss prevention, dlp, email encryption, email security, financial data, futureproof, keyword filtering, phi
Posted in HIPAA Email Compliance, LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy
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Reduce Risk with Set It and Forget It Email Encryption

Tuesday, February 7th, 2023

Leveraging PHI in your communications provides relevant, meaningful information to patients while significantly increasing positive health outcomes. LuxSci’s secure and HIPAA-compliant always-on email encryption streamlines the communications process and reduces risk. Use PHI safely and securely with set it and forget it email encryption technology.

The Email Encryption Landscape

There are many ways to enable encryption for messages that contain protected health information. The most common include data loss prevention technology and manual opt-in encryption.

First, data loss prevention uses software to scan message contents to look for keywords, phrases, or patterns that indicate the presence of sensitive or confidential information. Administrators must create detailed rules that instruct the DLP technology on what information is privileged and should be encrypted. While this is effective for some common keywords and patterns like social security numbers, a lot of health data does not fall neatly into pre-defined rules. DLP can quickly be rendered inadequate by misspellings, typos, or other human errors that fail to trigger the technology.

The next way that email messages are commonly encrypted is through human decision-making. The user switches a toggle or types a word like “encrypt” into the subject line or message to notify the system that the message should be secured. This form of opt-in encryption is hazardous because it relies on staff members making the right decisions around confidentiality and security. Even the best employees will make mistakes. How many times have you forgotten to include an attachment with an email message?

A Better Way: Set It and Forget It Email Encryption

At LuxSci, we recommend a different approach. Encrypting every email message automatically drastically reduces the risk of user error and ensures 100% message encryption. In industries like healthcare and finance, even one mistake could lead to a breach with severe financial penalties.

By encrypting all messages with a baseline of TLS encryption, organizations can meet their compliance requirements and provide a better user experience for recipients because portal logins are not required.

Set It

Setting up LuxSci’s Secure Connector takes less than one hour. Administrators can set it up globally, with no local installation or download required by staff members to connect. Once DNS and encryption settings are configured, employees can send secure emails immediately.

Administrators can choose the encryption configuration option that best fits their business processes. TLS is suitable for most communications, but sensitive data like health records, financial reports, or other confidential information can be sent to a secure portal for increased security. Administrators can create and manage encryption settings on an individual or group level to provide maximum flexibility. LuxSci’s encryption technology is highly configurable to meet any business need.

Forget It

Administrators don’t have to rely on employee decision-making when all messages are automatically encrypted. Employees do not need to be trained on when to enable encryption. It just happens automatically in the background, which increases security and gives you peace of mind.

It’s also easier for administrators to manage. There is no need to create detailed lists of rules to trigger encryption technology. Once you’ve selected your encryption preferences, all emails are sent that way. Minimal ongoing training or support is needed, and administrators can be confident that their messages are protected. In addition, users can verify that secure message delivery occurred with comprehensive analytics reports.

The Results: Improved Patient Engagement

TLS encryption is a game-changer because it is secure enough to meet compliance requirements and is user-friendly. TLS-encrypted messages appear just like regular, unencrypted emails in the recipient’s inbox, making them easy to read and respond to but without the risk of interception or eavesdropping. This is crucial for users who are not tech-savvy and helps to increase engagement with the message contents. If a user needs to take an extra step to log into a portal or create an account, they are more likely to drop off and not read the message.

Reducing friction in patient communications helps improve conversions and nudges patients into taking actions that will improve their health outcomes. Access to health care needs to be equitable, and that means making clinical communications seamless for users of all technical abilities.

Tags: always on encryption, automatic encrypion, dlp, email encryption, human error, patient engagement, phi, risk analysis, secure connector, set it and forget it
Posted in HIPAA Email Compliance, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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Infographic: Most Email Software Cannot Use PHI

Thursday, January 12th, 2023

Email Communication is Necessary- But Introduces Risk

When it comes to receiving communications from businesses, 93% of people say that email is their preferred communication channel. In the healthcare industry, organizations must take extra care to comply with HIPAA. Only some email marketing platforms can adequately protect PHI. If not properly secured, email can introduce significant risks to sensitive data. 72% of organizations report experiencing an email cyberattack.

As the definition of PHI is ever-expanding to include information like biomarkers, organizations need to adopt a more secure posture for their personal, transactional, and marketing email. Cybercriminals seek out personal data because it is highly valued on the dark web. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and policies preventing users from sending PHI insecurely are not enough.

Humans are prone to error and often make mistakes classifying PHI. Even DLP technology is not infallible- keywords can be misspelled, and PHI only sometimes fits cleanly into pre-determined filters. 40% of threats stem from internal actors. Many are not malicious, just mistakes! You must account for errors when humans are part of your security program.

So how can you prevent data leakage and ensure the security of sensitive data at rest and in transit? It’s simple when you choose the right solution. Resolve the tension between security risk and business engagement objectives by choosing a fully compliant email marketing solution.

infographic email phi (Click to Expand)

Two Requirements for Including PHI in Marketing Emails

Secure Application

HIPAA does not require at-rest encryption, though it is recommended to decrease risk and potential liability. When using email marketing platforms or customer relationship management systems that contain PHI, it’s essential to keep that information protected. You must ensure that all collected and stored protected health information is encrypted and can only be accessed and decrypted by people with the appropriate keys. This makes backups secure, protects data from being improperly accessed, and generally protects the data no matter what happens (unless the keys are stolen). Encryption is essential to protect private health data at rest in an application.

Transmission Encryption

If protected health information is transmitted outside of the database or application, encryption must also be used to protect the data in transmission. At a minimum, TLS encryption (with the appropriate ciphers) is secure enough to meet HIPAA guidelines. However, TLS alone may not be appropriate for your use cases. Non-compliant and quasi-compliant applications do not offer transmission encryption that is secure enough to comply with HIPAA. You should only send communications containing PHI if they are encrypted.

Types of Email Marketing Solutions

Non Compliant (1)

Many of the most popular email solutions on the market were not designed to protect the sensitive data of the healthcare industry. These vendors will not sign Business Associate Agreements and do not provide the storage or transmission encryption needed to meet HIPAA requirements. Healthcare organizations should only use these solutions if they do not send PHI- which may be impossible if you plan to email lists of patients with any information about their healthcare.

Quasi Compliant (2)

HIPAA does not require any specific technology to meet its requirements, which allows for flexibility, but also creates uncertainty. No central government organization certifies HIPAA compliance, and as a result, many organizations advertise themselves as “HIPAA-compliant” but don’t enable you to take full advantage of their functionality. We call this “Quasi compliance.”

Quasi-compliant solutions often provide a secure application and protect patient data at rest. However, they will not permit you to send emails or transmit PHI outside the database. This can seriously limit the usefulness of the solution. Take a real-life example: one healthcare organization purchased a CRM system and set it up, uploaded their contacts, and was ready to start using it, so they enabled the “HIPAA Compliance” toggle on the backend. They quickly found that much of the functionality was no longer available and wouldn’t allow them to email or log certain data types. The solution was almost useless for their patient engagement efforts.

Other applications will permit you to use the full functionality of the solution, but when you read the terms of the Business Associate Agreement, it is clear that you are not allowed to send PHI. If signed, your organization will be responsible for any breaches caused by sending PHI insecurely, not the vendor.

Full Compliance (4)

This is why it’s crucial to vet solutions carefully and not take shortcuts regarding HIPAA compliance. Any CRM, CDP, or email marketing solution must protect data at rest in a secure application and encrypt transmitted messages. Even more importantly, it shouldn’t take any extra training or require any extra steps to use in a compliant way.

At LuxSci, (3) we provide a secure application to manage your email campaigns that encrypts transmitted messages automatically. Our Secure Marketing solution is designed to meet the unique security needs of healthcare organizations. All email transmissions are encrypted automatically, and users can choose the right type of encryption (TLS, Portal Pickup) to meet their email use cases. Automatic encryption gives your security and compliance teams peace of mind that all messages are sent securely. Data is protected throughout the lifecycle and does not require employees to decide whether a message contains PHI. Healthcare marketers can fully use PHI to personalize and customize messaging to increase patient engagement and get better ROI on their marketing campaigns.

Tags: automatic encryption, data encryption, email encryption, email marketing, human error, infographic, phi, quasi compliance, secure application
Posted in HIPAA Marketing, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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Tips for Improving Account Security

Thursday, December 8th, 2022

Securing access to protected health information is a crucial tenant of HIPAA compliance. Your employees may have access to sensitive information, so ensuring their accounts are secure is essential to protecting this data. While you can’t stop users from making poor choices, there are administrative actions you can take to help improve account security. We’ve created a list to help assess your security stance.

What are Access Controls?

First, let’s define what we mean by access controls. In the context of HIPAA compliance, access controls refer to the technical and physical safeguards required to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of protected health information. Physical access controls include protecting the physical security of PHI located on physical servers, files, and other hardware. This is easy to understand. File cabinets are locked, rooms require passkeys or access codes to enter, and there are often sign-in and out sheets for physical files or information.

Access controls are more complicated for digital storage. In today’s world, most electronic protected health information (ePHI) is digitally stored in EHRs, databases, or the cloud. This article discusses ways to improve account security to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of digitally stored ePHI.

Account Security Checklist

Below we’ve compiled some of our tips for improving account security. Note that HIPAA does not make specific technical recommendations for how to meet its requirements. There are many ways to meet HIPAA requirements that do not dictate the use of any specific technology. However, keep in mind that the goal is to secure the sensitive data entrusted to your organization, not just check off compliance requirements.

Unique Accounts

To track who is accessing protected health information, it’s essential that account logins are not shared among staff members. When users share login credentials, it is impossible to tell who accessed information when reviewing audit logs. This can create issues when dealing with a security incident. By clearly designating logins to individuals, it’s easy to determine who is accessing PHI and to detect unusual activity. Ensure your employees understand that sharing logins is not allowed and set policies to enforce this rule.

Secure Passwords

Many people understand the importance of having a secure password, but it’s still shocking how many people use insecure or easily guessed passwords. According to a report from LastPass, 95% of IT professionals said that passwords pose security risks to their organization. They reported that employees frequently mishandle passwords, sharing them too liberally and via insecure methods. A few steps you can take to improve password security include:

Using unique passwords for each account
Requiring the use of special characters, numbers, and capitalization
Randomly generating passwords
Using password managers to store account information securely

Administrators should create policies for passwords and enforce as many of these requirements as possible by default. Don’t rely on users making the right decisions.

Multifactor Authentication

If a user’s password is weak and gets compromised, multifactor authentication can help keep accounts secure. Multifactor authentication requires a second piece of information (usually a six-digit code) to complete the login process. The code is sent to or generated by a second device. Without access to this code, a hacker cannot log in to the account, even if they have the username and password.

We recommend using an application (like DuoSecurity or Google Authenticator) to generate the second factor because a competent hacker can intercept codes sent by text/SMS.

Time and Location-Based Settings

These settings are not required for HIPAA compliance but provide an additional layer of security. Administrators can stop logins that take place from outside of pre-set geographic regions. This is useful because many cybercrimes are launched from foreign countries. For example, logins coming from countries like Russia, China, or Iran could be forbidden by administrators. In addition, admins can lock users out when it is not their r egular working hours. For example, keep users from logging in between 10pm-6am (or any time of your choosing.) Many malicious actions take place outside of regular operating hours to avoid notice. Be sure to have a way to override this in case of an emergency.

IP Restricted Logins

Restrict logins even further by requiring them to come from specific IP addresses. Administrators can use VPNs to secure traffic to their applications. The user will not be able to log in if the attempt does not come from the correct IP address.

Role-Based Permissions

Another factor to keep in mind is the principle of least access. Users should only have access to the systems required to perform their job duties. Not every user should have access to every system. Reducing the number of logins available decreases the attack surface and reduces risk. This is a key tenet of the Zero Trust security philosophy.

Automatic Log Out

Finally, prevent users from staying logged into sensitive systems indefinitely. Enforce automatic logouts after a point of idleness (this could be five minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour depending on your situation). This helps prevent unauthorized access to protected information after a user has legitimately logged in.

Conclusion

These tips represent just a few ways that administrators can improve the security of their users’ accounts and protect access to PHI.

Tags: access controls, account security, automatic logout, ePHI, hipaa compliance, mfa, multifactor authentication, password manager, phi, session timeout, time-based access control, vpn
Posted in LuxSci Library: Security and Privacy, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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