The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that was enacted in 1996 has two aspects known as privacy and security rules and this helps in safeguarding all protected information of patients from unauthorized access. This protected information is also transmitted electronically and emails are the most preferred choices for doing so.

Most health care providers who need to exchange medical records of patients do so by using emails. The files that are sent as attachments need to be password protected and encrypted. This will help prevent any unauthorized access.

5 Simple Steps For HIPAA Email Compliance

1. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed as a federal law in 1996 and the rules and regulations governing emails came into effect in 2003. There are various guidelines and safeguards that are stipulated for using emails as a means of exchanging protected information of patients.

2. Any confidential information of patients that is available in emails should be safeguarded by using passwords and this will ensure that no unauthorized person is able to view and access it. All information that is available in the emails should be encrypted so that no one is able to read it. Only authorized individuals would be able to read and access it.

3. The files that are attached along with the emails should be password protected so that any unauthorized access is prevented. There are various software programs that help protect the message as well as the attachment even after it has been delivered to the concerned person.It would be advisable to encrypt web pages that are used to send emails and this will help safeguard the confidential information of patients.

4. There are no specific guidelines as to how the emails are to be encrypted and organizations would need to make the choice based on their specific requirements as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is silent in this aspect.

5. If the email compliance procedures are not followed there are very stringent penalties. The fines can be as high as $50,000 for a single email offence. If the offence is repeated or is found to be intentional there can also be imprisonment for individuals who failed to comply with the rules and regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

You will be able to safeguard the protected information of patients and prevent its misuse by complying with the various provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The covered entities will be able to ensure that it is not misused for commercial purposes by having various safeguards in place. Technology can also be used to safeguard the confidential information in an effective way.

Any kind of unauthorized access can be easily prevented if simple steps are taken for compliance of the email guidelines specified by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Even if the email is sent to a wrong mail id it will not cause any harm if suitable preventive measures have already been taken. This will ensure that only authorized individuals will be able to access and read it.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA Certificate website.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA Certificate website http://www.hipaaexams.com/hipaa-certificate.html

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our HIPAA Certificate website.

Category: Advice
Keywords: HIPAA Compliance,Health Insurance