Emails are here to stay as a prominent way of communication for businesses across the world. The rising number of emails sent and received each day is huge and expected to grow evermore. As you can see in the graph below we are expecting 347.3 Billion emails to be sent and received in the year 2023 alone.
It would be denying the fact that the Healthcare industry is untouched by this rising trend.
But, why are we bothering with this Email service in healthcare? It is noted in a study that that Email communication is key for improving patient and doctor relations and understanding between them. They also help in another way like –
If you are thinking that you already have an Email provider then think again because are they HIPAA compliant email service provider?
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act made into a law in 1996. The utmost and primary focus of this law is to keep medical information safe or PHI (Protected Health Information) safe.
You need to make sure before choosing any Email service provider that all HIPAA compliant email requirements are met and you are safe from any HIPAA violations in the future. You can check the list of HIPAA violations
HIPAA compliant email requirements
You can refer to this guide on security technical safeguard
Apart from the steps taken to become compliant for HIPAA email service provider, it is also necessary for an entity that is using this service is well trained and knowledgeable about the risk that might appear i.e spam and risky messages. The aim should be safeguarding the PHI.
Top 5 HIPAA compliant email service provider
| Features | HIPAA | Price | |
| Egress | Inspect email, domain analysis, admin reporting | YES | £90 / User/ Per Year |
| Hushmail | Drag and drop forms builder, ESIGN and UETA compliant | YES | $29.9/User/month |
| Barracuda | Email continuity, Link Scanning, Outbound filtering | YES | On Request |
| Paubox | Only 1 login Protection against SPAM, phishing attacks | YES | $10 user / month billed annually |
| NeoCertified | Email monitoring, Email reminder, Microsoft Outlook | YES | $99/user/annually |
Egress focus on keeping your email database safe from prying eyes. They help in the prevention of leak of database and email before anyone makes an attempt. In terms of features, it works on the technology of contextual machine learning and advanced DLP which enables it to notice if your email data is at risk by your employee by mistake or intentionally.
Following are the feature of the Egress email encryption
Egress also analysis the body of the message for any anomalies related to an email address and behavior in real-time. Moreover, you can use a mobile, tablet and other devices to send and receive emails.
In addition, you get full office 365 and Microsoft outlook support.
Healthcare professionals use Hushmail to keep their client communication safe and private. As a default feature, Hushmail comes with fully compliant to HIPAA guidelines for being a compliment. In addition, BAA (Business Associate Agreement) is signed without any extra cost its hidden cost.
Features of Hushmail are following
The user gets a secure email account with built-in encryption functionality. If you are looking to send emails to nonsecure accounts like Gmail and Hotmail then you can safeguard those messages with passphrase or security questions.
Hushmail support gives human support where they personally answer your questions.
With a multilayered encryption approach, Barracuda take your email communication and data breach very seriously against email threats. Functions like email filtering and spam blocking are one of those few steps to make it secure. It works with AI engine technology to prevent yours against spear-phishing attacks.
Features of Barracuda
Total email encryption safeguards your data like credit card information, health information from leaking from your company. It can block some outbound email also based on their content, receiver or sender information. Cloud to cloud backup and point of time recovery features make this a perfect fir your HIPAA compliant email service provider.
Paubox is HIPAA compliant email service providers with encryption on all the outgoing emails. Integrate without any issue with G Suite, Office 365 and Microsoft Exchange for work. You can choose any device to integrate and start sending completely encrypted emails. Moreover, they are HITRUST CSF Certification.
Features of Paubox
Professional support is given to set up the email. In addition, you have Encrypted Email API which can be used to developed push notification from other devices also.
For healthcare professionals you can make Emails like reminders for an appointment, notification about medicines or any health-related updates they all can be HIPAA compliant.
NeoCertified encrypts all health-related information. It functions around HIPAA guidelines to secure your PHI ( Protected health information ). It limits access to PHI information and record and monitors the activities around that system. You can send PHI related documents through their secure portal using configured Gmail and Microsoft Outlook.
Feature of NeoCertified
Having a professional email Id is a must for any business to survive in this market. And, if you are into the healthcare niche then using a HIPAA compliant email service provider is a must for the protection of PHI.
Let us know in the comment section if you want to add any other service provider in the list.