Securing Outgoing Email

In order to comply with HIPAA Security Rule, UCR policy requires any outgoing email containing protected health information (PHI) to be encrypted whenever it is being sent to a recipient who is outside of the secure medsch network. This includes email that is going to the UCR campus email, or to other UC Health locations. Due to the current threat environment, it is strongly recommended that all other email containing more than one personal identifier be encrypted as well, even if it is not PHI. 

It is easy to encrypt an outgoing email message, and there are two equally effective ways that you can do this. 

• First option:  Simply hit the “Send Securely” button on the upper left side of the Outlook mailbox when you are ready to send your outgoing message. 

• Second option:  Simply type the word “secure” anywhere on the subject line of your outgoing message and it will automatically encrypt when sent.  Recipients of secure emails will need to enter a password and validation code in order to open and read the message. This is a simple process that takes only a minute.

Thank you for doing your part to protect information about the individuals that we serve!